Crippled Wings
by Darkscream
Summary: AU OC RP - Yaoi - A bored Cybertron lord finds himself a new play toy. Through unexpected events, the lord's life becomes flipped upside down in more ways than one. Is it truly possible for the lord to find happiness he was always denied?
1. Chapter 1

Toying with a pillow, Stranglehold squished it between his hands. He yawned and shifted around in his chair. Kicking one of his legs to toy with a chain that was attached to his chair. Red optics lazily trailing down the chain. Barely smirking as he tugged on it with a foot. Amused at how the femma at the end meeped in surprise. He cast her a grin as she put on a forced smile. His grin faded as he sat back up in his chair. Tossing his pillow down onto the mound before him.

"Guards, find someone to entertain me. I'm bored with these femmas." Grunting, he watched the guard go. Barely paying heed as one of his femmas came up to try and ease his boredom by stroking his arm. All she got was a glance and a grunt.

Some few hours later, a loud scuffling and muffled shouts could be heard in the halls. The guards burst into the room trying to haul a blue mech along with them. It took several guards to keep the mech subdued, as he was putting up one Pit of a fight, both physically and verbally. "Get off me you astro-rats! What the slag do you think you're doing?" Bayou, was obviously not happy.

Stranglehold had his optics closed as his boredom made him slip into a light nap. The sounds disrupted him, making him growl. Brightening his optics, he tilted his head to see what was making the ruckus. Seeing the blue mech made his wings perk up.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Sitting straight in his chair, a smirk slipped to his lips. Resting his hands on the sides of his throne. "Guards, where did you find this mech?"

Three guards were applying their entire weight to the struggling blue mech, and still having a hard time getting him to bow down to Stranglehold. One of the two that were holding the chains that immobilized Bayou's hands, bowed and spoke. "On the outskirts of one of the abandoned sectors, sir. He may look a bit dirty and roughed up, but I think he would clean up rather nicely for your... desires."

Smirking, the mech got up from his throne to slide down the pillows before his throne to head over. Wide wings flaring out to his side, which was always intimidating to those who never saw him before. Kneeling down, Stranglehold grasped Bayou's chin, lifting his head up so he could get a better look.

"Hmm... Mech, tell me your name and what you were doing." His grip on Bayou's chin was tight enough to keep his head from moving away. He had already made up his mind about this mech, but he wanted a name to match a face.

The blue mech had been forced down onto his knees, and was struggling to get back up when he felt a hand on his face. A chill ran through his circuitry, and he tried to lash out at the hand and bite, but the grip was too strong. Blue optics looking up to meet red panes, he growled, not seeming the least bit intimidated. "Who wants to know?" he snarled rudely.

Stranglehold smirked in amusement. "Stranglehold, the lord of this territory, and your new master." He wasn't fazed with the growl or the snarl. Nothing new to him. He was used to these kinds of responses. Snickering, he releases Bayou's head as he stood back up. Thinking that this particular mech was going to be a very fun toy.

Bayou's growl grew more feral with every word that slipped past Stranglehold's lips. "Tyrant!" he shouted. "I don't belong to anyone, and certainly not to a flying slag-sucker like you!"

He made as if to leap on the other mech, to tear him to pieces, but before he could lunge, the guards were shoving him face down on the ground and beating him brutally for his insolence.

Stranglehold didn't even bother to get out of the way. He was used to insults and could easily handle himself. This mech was in command of his territories for a reason. Letting the beating go on for a few moments, he finally spoke up. "Guards, enough. Take this prisoner to the cells. Make sure he remains chained or it will be your hides that I'll be taking and not his."

The guards didn't hesitate to obey. Roughly grabbing the badly dented and scratched up mech, they began to drag him away.

Bayou didn't go that easily though, and within seconds, was struggling and screaming insults in several dialects. Some time later, he was alone in a prison cell, chained so heavily that he could hardly lift himself up off the floor. This was not good.

Watching the mech go, Stranglehold simply smirked. Noting that he was going to have a lot of fun with this mech, he waved away his femmas as he headed elsewhere. Picking up an energon cube, the mech wandered the halls of his towering home. Merely shooting looks at those he had under him. Once his own cube was finished, he crushed it in his hands.

"Hrm..." Smirking, the yellow and black mech headed towards the cells. Dismissing the guard on duty. Wanting personal time alone with this captive. He unlocked the cell door and stepped inside. Grinning down at the captive. "We meet again, mech."

The only part of him that was able to move was his head, and even that was limited by the thick collar around his throat. Looking up, Bayou caught sight of his captor and snarled wordlessly. His chains rattled as he tried to get at the seeker and rip him apart. "What do you want, slag-face?" he snapped.

"You never gave me a name." Stranglehold knelt down with a grin that was infamous to him and him alone. "So, mech, what were you doing in the territories? And do give me a name. You're going to be staying here a very long time. I can make it easy or very, very hard."

Bayou's only response was to spit at Stranglehold's feet and look away in contempt. The tyrant could do his worst. Bayou wouldn't crack or give in. Besides, if he couldn't get himself out, sooner or later, someone would come to help him escape.

Stranglehold would of nothing of the sort. As long as he was in charge, Bayou wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. Getting back to his feet, he grabbed hold of the chain around Bayou's neck, yanking on it to pull him up. Chains and all. "Pity you did that, mech. Keep it up, and your life will be a living Inferno. Oh well... you'll still be suffering. You are mine and you will be joining me soon."

Bayou fought it. He refused to be pulled up onto his feet by the chain, and dug his knees against the ground. He would resist this mech and show him he wouldn't be tamed so easily.

"Just you wait," he hissed. "Your little empire of treachery will fall, and I'll make sure you come toppling down with it!"

Grunting, Stranglehold released the chains to let Bayou return to the ground. "Good luck. Others have tried and failed, mech. I'm a lot harder to take down than those guards who brought you in."

Shaking his head, he let his hands rest on his hips. Drumming a mindless tune on his hip. Debating what he should do with Bayou. Keeping him chained was fun, but it he needed entertainment. Smirking, he left the cell to grab the keys for the locks.

Bayou shrewdly watched Stranglehold leave before muttering. "I'll make sure that you meet your end. And I'll personally be the one to bring you to your knees in a pathetic slump." He tugged on the chains that held him, trying to free himself, but to no effect.

Picking the keys up, Stranglehold headed back into the cell. Twirling the keys on a finger. "Those chains were tested by yours truly. You're never going to escape. No matter how hard you try." Dangling the keys in front of Bayou, he grinned. Taking some fun in tormenting the mech.

Bayou snarled and struggled against the chains. His every thought was focused on tearing out Stranglehold's optics and ramming them down his throat. "Turbo-rat! Quint slagger! Unchain me and then we'll see who's going to be smiling!

"I've heard worse insults, mech." Laughing, Stranglehold let one of his cables slip out from his wrist, wrapping around the key to keep hold of it. Smirking, he moved down to grab Bayou by his chain collar. Lifting him straight off of the ground. His fingers forcibly digging into the mech's neck to get under the collar. The name Stranglehold was there for a reason.

Bayou's optics widened and he immediately began kicking and squirming. His arms were so weighed down that he wasn't able to use them to try and pry the seeker's hand off.

Cybertronians couldn't choke, per say, but the pressure to throat cables had the same effect as blocking off air, by keeping energon from cycling properly.

"Give me your name and I'll let you back down." Stranglehold held a mere grin. Moving his hand so his fingers pressed against Bayou's neck. Such a simple action had such a big impact. Ah, he loved being mean.

Bayou was having a hard time making his vocalizer work. He wanted to say 'no' and be defiant, but red lights were starting to flash on his diagnostic scan. "B-Bayou..." he manage to rasp out, optics flickering as they dimmed.

As he said, Stranglehold released his grip on Bayou's neck. Letting him back down to the ground. He did keep his word. "Now was that so hard, Bayou?" Those red optics peered down as he stood before the mech. Debating whether to drag him away now or let him recover first.

The rush of energon that had been blocked from reaching his processor just seconds prior made the blue mech insanely dizzy. If it weren't for the way he was chained, he would have slumped over on the floor. Instead, all he could so was cycle air heavily and try not to purge his tank of the little contents it had. If he could have focused his vision he would have been glaring death at Stranglehold.

Taking the keys from his wrist, he kneeled down to unlock the chains. Though he kept Bayou's hands bound for obvious reasons. No need to give the mech a chance. Once the chains were off, he let the cable take the chain again. Getting back up, Stranglehold crossed his arms again.

While Stranglehold was undoing the locks, Bayou had regained control of his functions, and watched the other mech from the corner of his optics, pretending to still be ill. As soon as the weight of the chains were gone, he lunged with a feral shout, but the chains on his hands stopped him just inches from the seeker. Snarling with livid rage, Bayou tried to break free.

Only a wing tip twitched at the lunch. An optic ridge raising. "I told you, those chains were tested by me." Stranglehold shook his head with a tisk before he grabbed Bayou by his collar. Stepping back, he began to pull the mech with him. Armor crunching beneath his fingers. Metal and cables groaning over the pressure he was applying.

Bayou hadn't expected this, and before he could stop himself, cried out in pain. "Let go!" he shouted at Stranglehold, trying to struggle free once more. His armor was poorly kept, and couldn't take abuse as easily as it had several vorns ago.

"Ya were so insistent on fighting me only moments ago." Stranglehold pulled more. The sound of metal groaning from the force was music to him. "Ya sounded tough. Just an act, Bayou. Not much point in speaking if you can't keep to your words."

Biting his lip hard, Bayou guarded himself and although the pain was horrid, he kept himself from crying out again. He wouldn't give Stranglehold anymore of that satisfaction. His armor was bending in ways it wasn't suppose to, and starting to tear in some spots, but Bayou just grit his teeth and kept silent.

Shaking his head, Stranglehold finally let go of Bayou's collar. Pushing him back so he would crash down. "Choose your words wisely, Bayou. My guards can do so much worse to ya than this. Keep this up and ya will be spending all your time down in the cells."

Crashing to the ground in a heap, Bayou struggled to sit up, trying to look over the damage; it wasn't very pretty. He tasted energon, and realized he'd split his lip from biting so hard. Cycling air heavily, attempting to ignore the horrid pain, he glared up at Stranglehold. "One day, you'll get yours," he rasped out.

"Ya were not the first to ever say that, Bayou." Stranglehold shook his head before he turned his head. Debating whether to get his guards or not. Smirking, he looked back down to the mech. "Ya are lucky I need ya or my guards would be having their own fun"

"Why the frag would you need me?" Bayou snapped, spitting out energon as his lips refused to stop bleeding. He would have tried to pounce again, but his armor was in no condition for another round of abuse. Had Stranglehold continued pulling, the torn, jagged parts of Bayou's armor would have severed vital circuitry.

Kneeling down, Stranglehold lifted Bayou's chin to they were optic to optic. He then licked the split lip, getting a good taste. "To play with. The femmas I keep can only keep me satisfied for so long. So ya, my dear captive, are going to be my new toy."

Bayou's head jerked back and he snapped at Stranglehold's tongue, trying to bite. "I'm no one's play toy!" he snarled, lashing out to kick the seeker square in the chest. "And if you think I'm going to submit to you because of pain and suffering, you have a glitch in your processor!"

Stranglehold wasn't a fool. He kept himself just out of reach so the bite missed. Though the kick did make him grunt. Moving back, he moved a hand to rub the area that was kicked. Feeling a few cracks and a minor dent. Nothing that couldn't wait. Glancing back to Bayou, he shook his head.

"Pain is only one service I offer, mech." Grabbing Bayou by his neck, he slammed him down. Hard enough to make a nice dent or a crack from the angle. "Ya will submit to me. Things will only get worse for ya if ya keep fighting. Once ya start to submit, ya life here will get better.

Bayou was consumed by pain, and his optics flickered offline from the unbearable agony. He tried to speak, but only static came out between the only two words he could form. "F-Frag... you.."

What had he done to deserve being captured like this? Did Primus hate him or had he been bored and decided to toss the blue mech into Stranglehold's custody? Either way... it was painful business.

Shaking his head again, Stranglehold stood back up. "Pity." Looking down at Bayou, he shook his head again. Turning on his heel, he left the battered mech alone. He didn't leave the cells just yet. No, he simply watched Bayou, wondering why he would bother to keep fighting. There was no escape. Even if he did, his towering home was designed so the way out would pass various guard stations.

Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced back to the main door. Grinning as the guard he dismissed returned. "Guard, go fetch the medic and someone to clean this mess up. This mech isn't dying on the first day."

This time, Bayou didn't try to sit up. It hurt too much to move, so he just stayed as he was, optics off and entire chassis burning with pain. Maybe he would die soon. That would be much better than being alive and used for a tyrant's sick pleasures. He only barely heard Stranglehold call for a medic and cursed his ill luck. So much for dying. The blue mech slipped into unconsciousness.

Glancing back to Bayou, Stranglehold shook his head. He remained until the guard returned again. Only then did he part from the cells. Wandering down the halls. "This mech is going to be much harder to break than the others... I'm going to have fun."

Laughing, he walked down the halls. Musing over just how much fun he was going to have in trying to break Bayou. Tyrant or not, he held the strange code of never taking someone unless they said yes. It truly amused him, but for now, he had to wait. Bayou would need time to recover.


	2. Chapter 2

When Bayou awoke, his internal chronometer told him he'd been offline for about three days. First thing he noticed was that he was not in his base, where he should be, but rather, in a dank prison cell with his arms tightly bound by heavy chains. Another thing he noticed, was that his body throbbed with a dull pain. Trying to sit up, he groaned and flapped back down again.

The guard on duty turned his head when he heard the groan. Snickering as he watched Bayou try to get up. "Well, well, the runt is awake."

Getting up from his chair, he approached the bars, flicking his fingers against them. "Master Stranglehold will be very pleased with this. Pitstop, fetch the master and alert him that our captive is awake."

Pitstop, a younger guard bolted to an upright position. "Right!" He then ran off, leaving the older guard to keep an optic on their master's prisoner.

Bayou turned his head to look at the guard, too low on energy to try and move any other way. His optics flared briefly and his engine provided a weak rumble of hatred. "Go suck a Quint," he spat before proceeding to ignore the guard.

The mech growled with a snort. "You wont be talking like that when the Master gets through with you. What he did was nothing." He scowled and moved away. Grumbling about good-for-nothing outlaws.

"Let's see him try," Bayou mumbled to himself, keeping his scowling gaze on the ceiling. No matter how much pain Stranglehold put him through, he wasn't going to give in.

Shortly after, Stranglehold came walking into the room. Pitstop following on his heels like a pet turbo-fox. "Good, our captive is awake." Grinning, he headed right over to the cell. Drumming his fingers on the bars.

"He is, but he's been qu-yelp!" The mech staggered back when he got a backhand. His optics wide as he cowered away from his master.

Stranglehold shot the mech a glare. "I didn't ask for you to speak. Now get out." His head turned as the mech fled.

"Pitstop, go and fetch an energon cube." Pitstop nodded his head before leaving the room. The other mech was already gone.

Bayou listened to them in silence. He didn't say anything, or bother to glance at them either. Maybe if he ignored everything, then Stranglehold would get bored and let him go. It was a lot to hope for, but it was at least a plan.

"I wonder why I even keep that other mech around... Pitstop listens better than him." Grunting, Stranglehold turned his gaze, looking back to Bayou. Unlocking the cell door, he opened it and walked in. "So ya are finally awake, Bayou, good. Wonder how low your energon levels are. My medics don't give but the very minimal to my captives."

Bayou didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even look at Stranglehold. Maybe, just maybe, if he gave him a reason not to be interested... But truth be told, his energon levels were low. Dangerously low.

The more Bayou tried to ignore, the more interested Stranglehold became. Before he could say more, Pitstop came running back in.

"Master Stranglehold, your energon cube." Pitstop stopped at the door, bowing as he held out the cube.

"Ah, good." Taking it, he patted Pitstop on the head. Noting how Pitstop's fingers twitched. "Get yourself a cube and take a break."

Looking up, Pitstop smiled and nodded. "Yes Master." He stole a gaze with Bayou before he quickly left the room.

"Amusing rookie. Listens better than older guards." Turning back to Bayou, he grinned and walked closer. Kneeling down. "So... how's your energy?"

Bayou turned his head the other way, lips tightly sealed and his optics looking at anything but Stranglehold. He could almost smell the cube of energon, and realized just how empty his tank seemed. Pushing temptation aside, he refused to answer.

Stranglehold merely grinned and sat himself down. Drumming his fingers on his knee. He set the cube down before him. Nudging it closer to Bayou. He'd seen it before in past captives. Ignoring the warnings of low energy couldn't last for long.

"I wonder how long ya'll last if I took those chains from your wrists... Ya probably couldn't put up much of a fight." Turning his own head away, he had an almost careless outlook. His optics tracing marks made by past prisoners.

The blue mech didn't respond. He could hear the drumming fingers, and the sound grated on his audials. And the energon. So close, but he was determined not to give in. No one was going to tame him, especially not Stranglehold.

Looking back to Bayou, Stranglehold held that grin. Rolling onto a knee, he leaned over the mech. Grabbing his arms to pull them up. A cable then moved to pull the key out. Taking it, he unlocked the mech's chains. Tossing them back against the wall, he sat himself back down. The key returning to his wrist via the cord. "Ya are too weak to even be a threat to me. So low on energon. And oh so amusing."

Slag him and his prideful temper. Bayou lashed out at Stranglehold, pouncing and pinning him to the ground, hands around his throat. "I don't need your tainted energon!" he snarled. "I'll show you weak!"

Stranglehold was surprised at how much strength the mech had. His optics simply narrowed when he was pinned. Grabbing Bayou's wrists, his hands tightened around to wrench them off of his neck. "Pathetic."

Folding his wings in, he twisted around to slam Bayou back onto the floor. Locking the mech's legs between his own, hands above his head. "Ya never stood a chance when my guards found ya. As long as ya continue to fight me, you're never going to be free. Never leave this cell."

Crying out as pain flared back to life, Bayou quickly began to struggle wildly. "You think you're so great! Beating a hungry and tired mech must be a great honor for you!"

The little fuel Bayou did have, had now burned itself out and his struggles had faded to weak and sluggish movements.

"I'm doing no such thing. Ya are the one attacking me. I'm merely defending myself. I released the chains and gave ya the option to have a cube. The option is still open to take it normally." Angry words merely slid off of Stranglehold. He kept Bayou pinned until the struggles became sluggish. Only then did he release Bayou to return to his spot. The cube next to him.

Try as he might, Bayou couldn't move, even after he was released. Dull optics glared at the black and yellow mech and he sneered. "Probably drugged," he hissed, glancing at the cube. "Besides, you're the one who thinks you can own people like they're toys!"

"Nope." Stranglehold picked the cube up in a hand. Twirling it around on his fingers. "Wrong again, Bayou. I don't consider those under my rule as mere toys. At least, not those that learned what it is to be under my rule. Even those femmas beside my throne are there to please me. Just as you will if you ever want to be free."

"I'm not a thing to be used for your sick amusement!" the blue mech snarled venomously. "Go shove that energon up your afterburners, I'm not playing your little games!"

If he could have moved, he would have struck Stranglehold across that arrogant face of his.

One of Stranglehold's wings twitched, but he otherwise didn't show a emotion different than the grin. "Ya will be one of mine, Bayou. And ya have no luck in here. I'm not leaving until this cube his empty."

He lifted the cube up in a hand. "My prisoners, unless I want them, don't starve."

"Then drink it yourself!" Bayou snapped, hoping that Stranglehold would do so and choke on it. "I'm not going to be your puppet."

He looked the other way, frustrated with himself and hating Stranglehold more than anything in the world.

"I'm not the one who is taking this. Ya are." Stranglehold slid to his knees. Moving over to Bayou, he returned to the position that he was at before. Just to be on the safe side, his legs locked around Bayou's. One hand grabbing and holding the mech's hands above his head. "And ya are too weak to fight me. Insults, threats, nothing works."

Bayou nearly panicked. "What do you think you're doing?"

He tried to buck and toss Stranglehold off, but his body wasn't obeying him. "Get off of me! Let go!"

"The only way I'm getting off, is if ya drink this." Stranglehold held up the cube. "Ya can drink it normally, or I can force you to drink it. Take your pick, Bayou. Normal or forced."

"I ain't drinking anything you give me!" the mech hissed defiantly. He glared up at the seeker, again trying in vain to struggle.

"More ya struggle, weaker ya get. Ya leave me no choice." Seeing no other way, other than one he wasn't going to mention, Stranglehold took a decent sized sip of the energon. Instead of swallowing, he simply held it. Setting the cube down so he could grasp Bayou's jaw in his hand. Applying just enough pressure to keep it open, he lowered his head down to claim Bayou's lips. Only then did he part his own to deliver the energon the forcible way. Keeping his own there so Bayou didn't have a choice but to swallow.

Bayou's optics widened as Stranglehold's lips met his, and tried to jerk away. Stranglehold held him too firmly though, and as the energon trickled into his mouth, he had no way of rejecting it. He tried to spit it out, to remain defiant, but all he could do was swallow hungrily. The flavor of Stranglehold's mouth was mixed in with that of the energon, and Bayou shuddered. This wasn't suppose to be happening. Stranglehold was suppose to be getting bored and letting him go, not finding a new way to pull Bayou into his games!

Once the energon was gone, Stranglehold pulled his head back. "Still refuse to drink the cube normally?"

Those red optics were so oddly calm. He was hardly feeling bored with Bayou. Everything the mech did, including how he continued to be so defiant, amused the tyrant. Even though he did feel bored on the occasion, he'd yet to feel it since the moment Bayou was brought before him.

"S-Slag off!" Bayou snapped after a moment of coughing. He kept his mouth tightly shut now; he wasn't going to let Stranglehold win. Despite that however, after having had a taste of the life giving fuel, his tank was almost doing flips, begging for more, letting Bayou know just how hungry he was.

"Ya are only starving your chassis. Ya say one thing, your chassis says another." Stranglehold moved his hand to pick the cube back up. Taking another sip from it the cube, it went back down and so did he. This time, his fingers dug in slightly to force Bayou's jaw open. Few things, especially a weakened mech, could stand to him. While his fingers forced Bayou's jaw back open, the cables from his wrist came out. Rubbing against the neck cables that carried the energon. Coaxing Bayou's own chassis to get his chassis' desire for energon to override his defiant mind.

Bayou made a sound of protest, again trying to pull away, but Stranglehold was covering his mouth again with his own. He trembled and did his best not to swallow, but before he could stop himself, he was greedily swallowing down the forced energon. He could feel the energon already started to provide a little bit of energy to his starved chassis, but it wasn't nearly enough.

This time, he didn't even bother to say anything to Bayou. Stranglehold simply picked up the cube to repeat the process. Again forcing Bayou's mouth open if he had to. Once that third was done, he removed his hand to rest on the cube. Though his head remained near Bayou's. "This can go much easier for ya. Just accept the cube to drink it normally, and ya might get another instead of waiting until tomorrow for it."

And again, Bayou repeated the process of resisting weakly before drinking hungrily. "S-Since when... d-did it look like.. I would do anything... the easy way for you?" he panted defiantly, glaring up at Stranglehold. His chassis was screaming at him to stop being stubborn and take the cube, but Bayou wasn't listening.

Stranglehold shook his head. "I have no problem doing this. Ya suffer, not me."

Leaning back, he took the cube again to sip the energon. After that, he didn't even bother asking Bayou again. He just continued to force feed Bayou the energy until the cube was empty. Once it was, those red panes peered back down at Bayou. "Ya kept fighting, even when ya know ya craved the energy."

By the time the cube was empty, Bayou had practically given in to his hunger. Before Stranglehold could pull away, Bayou attacked his mouth, tongue thrusting past the seeker's lips. His tongue hungrily searched Stranglehold's mouth, trying to capture the last flavored drops of energon, and he almost whimpered when there was nothing to be taken. His fuel tank protested in despair.

Stranglehold couldn't help but smirk a little.

"I'll have to get Pitstop to bring in more energon." Doing just that, his head tilted to the side. Sending a sub-level comm to Pitstop, requesting more energon cubes. Returning his head back to normal, he grinned. Moving a hand to stroke Bayou's cheek. "Now we just wait for those other cubes."

Optics flickering, Bayou then realized what he'd done and shame burned through him like acid. He'd given in. It might have been an act of hunger, but it was submission either way. Optics burning with hatred for not only Stranglehold, but himself as well, he jerked his face away from the seeker's touch. "I don't want your slagging energon!"

"Ya took it once, ya will take it again. Look at me and tell me ya don't crave more energon." Stranglehold took Bayou's chin in his hand, turning the mech's head so they were optic to optic. They didn't bear compassion, or hatred, but more amusement. "I will repeat this process of forcing ya to swallow the energon."

"I don't want anything from you! Get off of me!" Bayou screamed, struggling beneath the mech. The little energon he'd been given had provided enough energy for a brief thrashing around, but it was burning off fast. It had barely been enough to fill the bottom of his empty feul tank.

Stranglehold didn't even budge. Only his wings gave a slight movement to flex out to his sides before retracting in again. Sighing, he covered Bayou's mouth to hush him. "You're wasting your energy."

Pitstop paused in the cell doorway when he saw his master and Bayou. "Master Stranglehold... I brought the cubes you asked for. Where should I put them?"

Lifting his head, Stranglehold turned his head. Grinning with a brighter look. "Come in and place them beside me."

Bowing with a nod, Pitstop entered the cell. Heading over to his master and the captive. Kneeling down, he put the two cubes down. Blue optics glanced to Bayou before they lowered to the floor.

Bayou met Pitstop's optics only to glare daggers at him. Anyone who served Stranglehold so willingly was an enemy. He would have shouted curses as well, but his mouth was covered. Taking advantage of that, the blue mech bit down on Stranglehold's hand, hard and spiteful. He hoped it would hurt like slag.

Stranglehold snarled and drew his hand back. He shook it to rid himself of the pain. Glaring down at Bayou. "Ungrateful fraggard."

Pitstop cowered back from the glare. Wincing when his master yelled. He moved away so he wouldn't be struck by accident. Knowing how Stranglehold acted when something he didn't like happen.

Stranglehold turned his head to the mech beside him. "Pitstop, leave the cells and return to quarters. Any guards stop ya, tell them it's my order."

Bowing, Pitstop quickly left the room while Stranglehold looked back to Bayou. "Ya will regret biting me." With his bitten fingers, he gripped the collar to the mech's collar. Pulling back on it to cause the metal to groan in protest.

Bayou winced as the collar bit into his throat cables, but didn't cry out. "And you'll regret ever thinking you could tame me like a little pet!" he hissed in return. His optics flickered with the pain he was receiving, but he kept his mouth firmly sealed against any cries or protests.

"I've yet to regret things in my life. One mech isn't going to make me suddenly start, mech." Stranglehold grunted. "I never had a desire to tame ya like a pet. My reasons were other and so simple. Ya could have a better life inside than out there."

"Well I was a lot better off out there than in here!" Bayou snapped, struggling. "Out there I didn't have someone like you turning me into their play-thing!" He may have been scrounging for a living and a tank more than empty, but at least he'd had a remote sense of freedom.

"Such one simple thing from ya, yet ya constantly defy me. Even when there is nothing in the reserves to fight me with." Stranglehold scowled before he released Bayou. Shaking his head, he sat down to sweep up one of the two cubes Pitstop brought in.

"Ya are much more a challenge still. Perhaps I should of told Pitstop to remain here, but such young optics don't need to see such a form. Feel lucky I didn't knock ya unconscious for biting me. Ya would be offline now if ya dared to curse in front of Pitstop."

"And what do you care about others?" Bayou spat. "Everyone out there is suffering energon shortage, and here you are, spoiling yourself with your servants and slaves! Taking beat up wretches like me off the streets just to satisfy your boredom, when the people under your rule can't even earn enough to make a living!"

Absolute hatred resonated in Bayou's every word. Hatred towards Stranglehold towards his helplessness, and mostly towards a cruel, uncaring life.

One of Stranglehold's wings twitched as he listened to Bayou. He didn't travel away from his towering home very often. Then again, he never did care too much about how others felt. Grabbing Bayou by an arm, he dragged him over to peer down. Pressing the cube to his chest.

"Then drink. It is not my problem when those outside can not do what they must and I suppose ya would have a clue to how things are run outside these walls." He kept his hand on the cube. If Bayou had enough strength, he wasn't going to let it be knocked away.

"They're your people," Bayou hissed venomously. "And that means it is your problem!" He locked optics with Stranglehold, glaring heatedly before looking down at the cube pressed against his chest. His fingers twitched and he briefly lifted his arm before it flopped back down again. He'd used up the little energy he had again by struggling and screaming. The Unmaker really had it out for him today.

Stranglehold scowled in turn before grunting. His head turning to take note of Bayou's actions. "Problems to deal with later. I have something else to tend to first." Moving himself around, he lifted the cube up to his lips to sip it. Leaning back down, he pressed them against Bayou's. Not really trusting the mech not to waste the energy. That and he actually felt an enjoyment from pressing his lips against Bayou's.

Bayou flinched away from Stranglehold's mouth against his, but he was in desperate need of fuel. Reluctantly, he parted his lips to accept the energon being given to him. Swallowing hungrily, he internally was beating himself. Mouth to mouth feeding; his shame couldn't possibly get worse than this.

Parting when the energon was gone, Stranglehold raised an optic ridge. "Willing to stop fighting to take the energon normally?" He held the cube in his hand as he waited for an answer. It was amusing to him, but Bayou did keep fighting.

"I can't move my arms," the blue mech growled, looking away shame-faced. "I'm a worker mech, not a noble. I need more than just several sips of energon to function properly."

Moments ago, he'd only had the brief spurt of energy to thrash about, not actually move his limbs with a purpose.

"I know, but you can move your head." Stranglehold put the cube back down. Shifting himself, he pulled Bayou up to a sitting position. Leaning his knee against his back with his arm around his shoulders. Taking the cube again, he lifted it up to Bayou's lips. "Faster way to get the energon. The same way ya could of had it earlier if ya didn't insist on fighting me."

Bayou was going to say something rude, but it was cut off by the cube pressed to his lips. Retort immediately forgotten, he drank greedily, chassis starved for the life giving substance. Even though it shamed him to no end to be helped like this, he let Stranglehold feed him. Hopefully his energy would be fast in returning so that he could then punch the seeker out of revenge.

Stranglehold only moved the cube to let Bayou drink from it. Pulling it away to let him circulate the energy before taking more. Having a drunken mech on hand wasn't something he was looking forward to. When the cube was nearing it's final drops, he finally spoke up. "There's still a second one to come. If ya can hold your own, and not waste it by trying to attack me, ya can have it. Otherwise, we're doing this all over again."

Bayou tried to follow the cube as Stranglehold pulled it away, his hunger too great to ignore. "Just give it to me or I'll hit you anyway," he growled. He still couldn't command the use of his arms very well, but in a few minutes, that wouldn't be a problem.

Shaking his head, Stranglehold crushed the empty cube. The cables from his wrist emerged to grab the cube, pulling it closer so their owner could grab them. "Never get tired of these things."

Retracting them, he held the other cube up to Bayou's lips. "Will ya continue to keep fighting me? I am the only source of energon ya get. My guards would happily allow ya to starve if I wasn't here."

Bayou growled, suddenly understanding where this was going. Taming via energon. He turned his head away, refusing the energon and ignoring his tank's protest.

"I'm not your toy, and I'm not playing your games!" He snarled. "Go play with one of your femmes!"

Stranglehold's wings flexed out before folding back in annoyance. "I'm not playing a game. I was telling ya what the simple truth is. I have no interest in the femmas. They were dismissed for the day to do as they please. As would ya, if ya stopped fighting."

Bayou just turned up his nose at the energon. "There's nothing about me to be interested in, so slag off," he retorted. Stranglehold was acting as if he owned Bayou, and the blue mech didn't like that one bit. He wasn't going to obey, just so that someone could use him for their pleasure and then toss him away for the next model on the assembly line.

"Ya are an interest to me." Stranglehold put the cube down for now so he could have his hand free. Turning Bayou's head to him. "Ya constantly fight and insult me when it is pointless. I offer energon to ya, since ya have a starving chassis, and ya still fight. Yet those are not all the reasons ya are of interest to me."

If looks could kill, Stranglehold would have been dead a dozen times over, and then some. "And what are all the reasons then?" he snapped irritably. He was starting to get a little feeling back in his arms, and his fingers twitched with the urge to hit the seeker until he bled.

Since they couldn't, the glares simply slid off of Stranglehold like they were nothing. Lifting up Bayou's chin, the mech grinned. "One of them is ya are an interesting mech. Very strong willed. Not to mention... ya are handsome." He had interesting ways of thinking. One of them was how the attractiveness of others were.

Bayou's face flushed brightly, going blank with shock before contorting in anger. "Get out," he hissed, voice trembling. Anger was helping energy rush through his body far faster than before, and without realizing it, his arms were moving. He struck Stranglehold across the face and started shoving him away.

"GET OUT!" he screamed.

Stranglehold shook his head from the hit. It did sting, but it wasn't anything he hadn't felt before. To keep from getting hit again, he grabbed Bayou's hands to keep him from being hit again. Instead of leaving, he crossed Bayou's arms across his own chest. Pinning him back against the curved surface of his own. His head tilting down to look at Bayou. Audios tuning down to spare them from the mech's screams. "Screaming wont work. Hitting me wont work. Ya just waste the energy ya just drank. If ya stop screaming and struggling, I might just leave."

Bayou didn't trust Stranglehold, and that was made apparent by his refusal to follow orders. He thrashed about and struggled wildly, kicking and hurling insults in several languages, every which way.

"Let go of me!" he shouted lividly. "Let me go, I don't want to be here!"

Sranglehold was a mech of his words. He had been mainly truthful about how things went and how they worked. He would of left Bayou alone, for the time being, if he had just stopped fighting and insulting. "I'm not letting go. Ya were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ya are here now and ya are not leaving unless I allow ya to."

Bayou's struggles began to fade. Not because of Stranglehold's words, but because the little energy he had was running low again, and he did not look forward to being completely immobile once more. Falling still, he cycled air heavily, heat radiating from his chassis as exhaustion took over.

"Just... l-let me go..." he panted, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

Stranglehold's grip loosened when Bayou stopped struggling. Moving his hands away from the mech's wrists, he let them simply rest around Bayou's body. Supporting him so he wouldn't fall again.

"I can't just let ya leave here, Bayou. This tyrant can not simply just let prisoners go. Not after all of this work. It would make me seem weak in the optics of those under me." Moving a hand, he had the cables emerge. Grabbing the cube and pulling it closer so he could hold it in his hand.

Slumping against the seeker in exhaustion, Bayou lacked the will to move himself. He didn't want to be in any sort of physical contact with Stranglehold, but his servos dragged at him, making his limbs feel like they were made of Galvan lead. "Why can't you leave me alone?" he muttered, wondering what he'd done to deserve this.

"I don't want to leave ya be. If ya had no interest to me, ya would be dead or free. Worst case is dead." Putting the cube down on his lap, Stranglehold put his hand back next to Bayou. Stroking his cheek to gently turn his head. "Ya are too much of interest to me. Ya did continue to fight, refusing to submit. Ya know of the outside. Most of all, I find you quite handsome. It would be a pity to loose a mech like ya."

Bayou's face was angry again, but his optics held despair in their depths. "Go find a whore to play with. I'm not going to be your sex toy just because I amuse you for some reason known only to you!" He jerked his face away from the seeker's touch, almost as if Stranglehold's fingers burned like acid. If that was how this would turn out, he would have preferred being dead.

"I told ya why." Stranglehold kept his hand away from Bayou's cheek, but he saw that look. "Ya amuse me more than as just a toy. If ya haven't figured out by now, if I really wanted ya for a quick fix, I would of taken ya without a spare thought."

Picking up the cube, he took a sip from it, but didn't swallow. Setting it back down, his hands moved to turn Bayou back to him. Pressing his lips to the mechs, he forced him to take the energon. Instead of removing his lips from Bayou when the energon was gone, Stranglehold simply let his lips linger. Those red panes peering into the blue as if searching for something.

Bayou tried to pull back, attempting to refuse the energon, but just like before, his body greedily accepted the needed fuel. When Stranglehold didn't pull away, Bayou stiffened and offlined his optics as fear racked his chassis. He didn't want to meet Stranglehold's gaze or give him any sort of satisfaction at all. Too weak to fight him, the blue mech went limp, suppressing a whimper.

"Ya need to relax, Bayou. Ease up and stop stressing. This is the third cube. Ya already wasted two by yelling and flailing. Don't waste the third." Stranglehold softly kissed Bayou's lips.

"Look at me, Bayou. Look me straight in the optics." His voice was slightly lower than normal. It was a command, but in more a requesting tone.

Bayou flinched at the second press of Stranglehold's lips. Defiant. He was going to remain defiant! His optics powered on, and he inwardly cursed at himself. There was something about Stranglehold's voice that made him do it though, and he met the seeker's gaze fearfully.

"Ya have nothing to fear from me, Bayou. Tell me, do I look like I want to hurt ya? Are my optics that of a killer?" Stranglehold held Bayou's gaze. A calm look within his own red panes. He didn't want to cause Bayou more harm. His guards already did enough and what he did the other day only made it worse.

"What do ya see within mine?"

Last thing Bayou wanted to do was search for any traces of a conscience in those crimson depths, but Stranglehold obviously wouldn't go anywhere else if he didn't answer. "All I see is someone drunk on his own power," he muttered.

"Someone who would sooner kidnap someone off the streets for his own enjoyment, rather than see to the needs of those under his rule. Besides... you already did hurt me." His torn and battered armor was testament to that.

"Hrm... Then rather being free, wouldn't ya rather want to help those outside?" Stranglehold lifted Bayou's chin slightly. "Ya could do so much good from the inside. Instead of being like the others. Trying so hard, but getting no where."

Optics narrowing, Bayou tried to decipher the unreadable seeker. "What are you suggesting?" He wasn't so sure if he liked where this was going but... there were people on the outside who needed help.

"I have the rule over these territories, easily enough energon stored to keep this entire place running for cycles without worrying." Stranglehold only grinned. One that never betrayed him. "Ya know the outside. Know what this 'power drunk tyrant' doesn't. There is little personal interest beyond these walls, but that could all change. One simple act on the part ya play... and things could change."

Bayou's processor was spinning. He'd strived for vorns to help others with little success, but here was a chance to actually be of some help to the starved people. But at what cost?

"What do you want from me?" he asked in shrewd suspicion. "What could I possibly do for you, that would make you give me control of precious energon distribution?"

"A simple trade, Bayou." Stranglehold turned so he could grab the cube next to him. Holding it up, he kept the grin up. "The only thing I want from ya. It is simply what I have been wanting. A mere trade. Ya would be put in charge of the energon and all it would cost is ya. Ya being with me."

Bayou's suspicion remained. "Just... being with you," he repeated. "Define that a little more, because I don't really think it's that simple. Putting me in charge of YOUR energon stores just so you can chat with me whenever you want? Excuse me if I find that a little ridiculous to believe."

Putting the cube back onto his lap, Stranglehold stroked Bayou's cheek. Leaning in to kiss his lips. "It isn't as simple as that, Bayou. I want ya to be mine. My lover. That, is the trade." It was the one thing he had been trying to get this entire time. The trade was simple in his optics. Bayou being his and in turn, the mech was in charge of the energon. One life to save so many.

Bayou recoiled, both from the touch of the seeker's lips and fingers, and his words. "I was right then," he hissed. "You just want someone to be your fuckhole until you get bored again!"

Bayou was not the type to like being considered as someone's personal outlet for a boner, and he would have struck Stranglehold with all the strength he had, but... there was the offered deal. Could he really be selfish enough to let others starve, just so that he could remain a virgin.

Things like love didn't exist out there in the streets, where survival of ones self was top priority; there wasn't any excuse of wanting true love, to made.

"The deal is on there. Ya and only ya can decide if ya want to do this. I wont take an unwilling mech. Tyrant or not, I have my rules." Stranglehold simply explained as he waited on Bayou's answer.

"A simple trade and I do keep my word. Simply submit to me when I want and ya are free otherwise to help those outside these walls. Though... don't be so quick to judge my boredom, mech. Take the time ya need, but the choice ya make will seal the fate ya have and those of the outside."

It was as if he'd been given the choices of either crushing his spark, or of jumping into a smelter. Neither were very favorable. CPU was twisting and turning, trying to find a loophole, but there were none. Finally, he hung his head, optics dark.

"Fine..." he said brokenly, defeat in his voice. "I'll do it... but only because of them."

"Good." Stranglehold was very pleased. After all the trouble, he finally got what he had been wanting.

Picking up the cube, he let his cables emerge to lift Bayou's head. "Then drink up. I'll have my medic return with more energon later. Ya will have my part of the deal in deca-cycle [1 week]. That should be enough time for you to recover."

Bayou shuddered at the touch, but this time, didn't pull away. Grudgingly meeting Stranglehold's gaze, he grimaced. "I get to lay down my own rules!" he said hurriedly, before Stranglehold could think up any other terms.

"You have to let me have my boundaries if you want me to participate." He glared at Stranglehold, waiting to hear if he would let him set some limits.

"The more willing ya are, the smoother things go for us. What are the boundaries?" Stranglehold raised an optic ridge. Curious to what Bayou would want and what he wouldn't want. This did interest him.

"The first is no hurting me. No matter how angry or bored you are." He fingered a tear in his armor as he spoke. "Second is to give me free access to any part of the estate; I don't want to be locked up like a showcase pet. Third, you listen to me when I want a say in something. I may have agreed to be your sex toy, but I'm not a mindless puppet. And fourth... let the femmes go."

He fidgeted as he told Stranglehold his rules. Hopefully, the seeker wouldn't be so egotistical to ignore them. "You said yourself that they don't amuse you anymore, and now that you've got me here, you don't need any more pleasure slaves. Let them go free." If he could free as many slaves as possible, it would be a little victory for him over the tyrant.

Listening, Stranglehold didn't say anything against what Bayou was wanting. Not yet anyway. He kept listening to see what all of the demands were before he finally spoke up. "The first part is a deal. The second, ya wont be kept in here, but there are limits to where you can have access to. I can grant the third. As for the fourth... if I let them free, they will only return to the outside. Once ya are better, they will be turned over to ya. Ya can send them away. Deal?"

Bayou was not happy about the way Stranglehold was twisting around his fourth wish. "They have been your responsibility the entire time, you're not pushing them on me," he growled.

"Do you honestly think they would believe me if I told them they were free? They've listened to you and suffered your boredom this entire time, do them at least one good deed and tell send them away yourself."

Stranglehold chuckled with an optic ridge. Grinning down at Bayou. "They wont be ya responsibility. Ya will simply be sending them back out when the energon goes out to the public."

"I said it once, I'll say it again," Bayou said firmly. "Do them a good deed, and YOU send them out."

If this was how Stranglehold was going to be, then he was royally screwed. What had he gotten himself into?

Sighing, Stranglehold took his head. "I am releasing them. They are safer returning to the outside with the energon shipment. That is what I mean, Bayou. I can not allow them to be free within these towers. It is unsafe with the guard I have. Understand?"

"Oh, so you want me to believe there's a caring mech underneath the tyrant?" Bayou accused with a sneer. He didn't believe he could ever think of Stranglehold as anyone other than a self-absorbed, power hungry oppressor. He had agreed to be Stranglehold's personal toy for the people who were suffering, not because he wanted to enjoy a 'grand scale' life.

"Believe what ya want, but now the deal is sealed." Stranglehold held up the cube. Raising an optic ridge. "After the deca-cycle, I will come get ya and the femmas to go to the energon storage. I will personally oversee things and their leave. For now... drink up. An un-energzied mech can't do anything."

Bayou glared raw hatred at Stranglehold for a few moments before snatching away the cube and downing it in one go. "Happy now?" he snarled, wishing he could punch the mech just one more time.

"Yes." With the cube was done, Stranglehold shifted to let Bayou sit back down on the cell floor. "The medic will be in here shortly after I call him. Ya wont see me for deca-cycle until I come for ya. Happy?"

"No," Bayou retorted, moving as far away from the seeker as possible.

"I would be happier if I never had to see you ever again." And possibly if he didn't have to stay locked up an entire deca-cycle in a prison cell, but he didn't mention that part.

"Bad luck. It was ya or another. Ya made a deal, so the others will be happy." Stranglehold tapped the side of his helmet. Sending the sub-comm to the medic to get him in. Heading to the cell door, he closed it behind him. Removing his hand, those red panes looked back in.

"See ya in a deca-cycle." Moving his gaze, the mech headed out. The door to the cells hissing shut behind him, leaving Bayou to himself.

Bayou glared death at Stranglehold, cursing loudly at the seeker. When the other mech was finally gone, Bayou fell silent and buried his face in his hands. Keeping as silent as possible, he finally allowed himself to weep, shoulders trembling. He'd just signed himself over to the Slagmaker himself.


	3. Chapter 3

With the deca-cycle over, Stranglehold was keeping his word. The two femmas that were with him the day Bayou came in were following behind him. Both looking wary and curious. Neither were wearing chains on their necks, but they did have a band on their wrists, which still signaled them as his.

Coming to the cell door, he signaled them to wait and entered the room alone. Nodding to the guard, he went to Bayou's cell. Tapping on the bars. "As I said, I'm back, Bayou." His red panes peered past the bars to Bayou. Seeing how well his medic had tended to him.

Bayou was in the shadowed corner of the cell, looking patched up like new, but weary. He hadn't recharged all night, and had refused the energon brought to him hours earlier. He was downright scared, because today marked the beginning of his new life as Stranglehold's possession.

"Oh joy," he said dryly when he heard the seeker. "Now why don't you just go away for another few deca-cycles?"

"That wouldn't be fair to the others, now would it?" Moving back, Stranglehold opened the cell door. Glancing to the guard with a warning to not interrupt.

"I'll be outside waiting for ya, so do make it quick." With that said, he left to stand outside the main cell door with the two femmas. Grinning at them as he patted both on the head.

Bayou made a rude sign but had no choice other than to get to his feet. Standing with a sigh, he crossed his arms and glared at the seeker, glancing at the feemes briefly. "Why are they here?" he growled.

"I told ya. They were coming with me when I picked ya up. Did ya forget so quickly? No matter.. just follow me." Stranglehold waved a hand to beckon them to follow as he headed down the hall. The femmas followed, but they both cast curious glanced to Bayou.

Grudgingly, Bayou followed, keeping a well enough distance between himself and the seeker. He paid no heed to the femmes, not wanting to build any sort of personal connections with Stranglehold's pets. He just wanted them to be set free and get to work on distributing energon rations as well as getting his part of the deal over with. It was a life-long deal, but if he could find out what he was dealing with, it would be easier to handle.

Neither the femmas nor Stranglehold said a single thing on their trip. The femmas kept to themselves. Passing guards, whom gave them strange looks, until they reached the storage. Pausing at the door, Stranglehold looked behind him. "Bayou, come here. This is going to be what ya will be dealing out. Open the doors and see."

Grumbling darkly under his breath, Bayou moved forward, eying the doors as if they would bite him. Hesitantly, he opened them, and when he saw what was inside, had to power his optics on and off a few times to make sure what he was seeing was real.

"I didn't lie." Stranglehold patted Bayou on the shoulder as he looked into the massive storage. Just as he had said, there was plenty of energon to last, plus some. He knew how to deal with things like energon. Even with his vast storage, he didn't allow his guards to overenergize themselves. It was rare he ever did.

Bayou's first reaction was to shrug Stranglehold's hand off his shoulder. The second was to immediately begin calculating how much energon would go where and to whoever needed it most.

Muttering several numbers and names to himself, he went and began gathering together a sufficient amount of cubes into two space converters. That done, he walked over to the femmes and handed each a space converter filled with enough energon cubes to last them past the rationing dates he'd set up in his head. "Yours," he said gruffly, not looking at them. He didn't interact with femmes very well.

The femmas were surprised and looked to Stranglehold whom grinned. He walked over and took their wrists. Removing the bands from their wrists to pocket them. "Have a happy life ya two. Ya no longer have to live with me or tend to me. Go find a mech of yer own."

Both femmas were shocked at what was happening. They soon smiled and hugged each other. The two were friends after all.

Stranglehold then called a guard to escort them out. Watching them go, his red panes turned to look to Bayou. "Use a datapad. Just talk to Fission."

Bayou glanced at the seeker from the corner of his optics and gave a disdainful snort. "I'll use one when I need it. I'm just calculating on guesses right now." Turning his attention back to his mental distribution plans, he began looking over the energon. There was enough here to last the entire city for several vorns, but that was no reason not to be cautious.

Stranglehold chuckled hearing Bayou. "Have fun with that." Turning, he headed deeper into the storage. Glancing up at the stacks of cubes and the space converters. He paused when he saw Fission and another mech. Grinning to himself, he looked back over his shoulder to Bayou. Noting to introduce Bayou to just what he had agreed to once he finished calculating.

Bayou didn't seem to notice Stranglehold anymore. He was lost in getting his work set up, muttering small things to himself. He'd pulled a small datapad out from subspace and his stylus was scribbling down notes furiously. The blue mech may have been poor, but he was not uneducated.

Keeping himself busy, Stranglehold explained the new situation to Fission, whom nearly had a spark attack when he was told. Nearly laughing, he pointed out Bayou and continued to explain. The scientist did give him a weird look before resigning. Patting Fission on the back, the tyrant returned to watch Bayou. Content as a good time did pass by.


	4. Chapter 4

After a few breams had passed, Bayou seemed content with his calculations. Pulling out of his working trance, he checked his internal chronometer, surprised by how much time had passed. Looking around, he spotted Stranglehold watching him, and it felt like his spark had sunk to the bottom of his tank. "Have you been here this entire time?" he snapped.

"A portion. I went to go explain the new situation to Fission, then I came back." That grin was still there, even with the snapped question. Stranglehold really just let Bayou's reaction slide. There would be time enough later to deal with Bayou. "How are the calculations?"

Oh how badly he wanted to smack that grin off Stranglehold's face.

"There's more than enough energon here to last our city a good number of vorns," he said gruffly. "But I'm still going to set up a rationing schedule, starting with the sectors that are worse off. Not like you really care though."

Walking over to Bayou, Stranglehold lifted his chin up. "How long will this take ya? All in all, Bayou." He didn't even bother to comment otherwise on if he did care. None would believe a tyrant after all and certainly not Bayou.

Bayou jerked away from Stranglehold's touch with a glare. "I said it earlier. These are just guessed calculations, but if I were to work based off of these, the first distribution could begin tomorrow."

The blue mech was guessing that the seeker wouldn't allow for him to leave the estate, so he was going to need to set up a team for each sector. "You call in about 60 of your most trust worthy mechs by tomorrow morning, and I can get things running."

"Sixty by tomorrow, done." Stranglehold knew exact which mechs he could give this task to and they wouldn't disappoint him. "It wont take me long to get those mechs. As for the meantime, is there anything else ya have to do?"

Bayou eyed Stranglehold warily. His task for today was done, but he was reluctant to admit it; he was scared of what Stranglehold would have planned for him. "Not for today, no," he said grudgingly.

"Good. Then until tomorrow when ya have to finish the job, yer mine. Do remember it is yer willing submission to me that keeps this deal running." Stranglehold ran his fingers down the side of Bayou's face to slide off of his chin. "Hrm.. When did you last recharge?"

The blue mech flinched and shivered, but didn't pull away. He couldn't risk losing the control over the energon supplies. "Last solar-cycle," he said through gritted dental plates. He wasn't tired in the sense of lacking fuel and sleep, but from the stress of fearing his new life with the seeker.

"Follow me." Stranglehold turned and headed back out of the storage facility. He knew it was time to head to his quarters, to show just where Bayou would be staying. Not only that, but just what this deal would really mean to Bayou. His stubborn and defensive side was going down for the more submissive role he had to take.

With heavy dread settling over his spark, Bayou followed after the seeker. Maybe if he bolted now he could get away? But no... he couldn't do that to the people on the outside. Not to mention he wouldn't get very far with all the guards. He was sure of it now; his life would never be his own to command, ever again.

As they walked, Stranglehold would nod to a few of the guards. Making his mental notes of those mechs that Bayou would be having. He wasn't going to alert the guards just yet of Bayou's status. There was no need for them to know. He came to pause again in front of a set of doors. Twin jets with symbols on their wings adorned the door.

"Welcome to our living quarters, Bayou." Pushing the doors open himself, he headed into the room first. Waving a hand to display the inner room. It was more highly decorated than the rest of the palace. A large bed took up the center. There was a pair of side doors. One of which led to a shower and the other led to a smaller room, of which Bayou would be staying. It was downed a degree from how Stranglehold's was, but still more decent than others.

If this hadn't been Stranglehold he'd been dealing with, Bayou would have gaped openly at the lavish spoils that came with nobility. Instead, he cast his gaze around the room, his scowl hiding the awe he held. "You don't hold back on surrounding yourself with your wealth, do you," he muttered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as his nervous fear grew.

"If ya have it, then use it." Stranglehold shut the door once Bayou was inside. The lock hissing and clicking to prove this was it. There wasn't any turning back now. "Get used to this. Ya will be spending a portion of yer time here. Spending it with me."

Bayou tried to keep from showing any emotions other than contempt, but his doorwings gave him away. They trembled almost violently as he ducked his head and gritted his dental plates. "W-What do you want me to do?" he forced himself to ask. No turning back now, so he might as well get the more painful part of it over with.

Moving behind Bayou, Stranglehold put his hands on the trembling door wings. Gently stroking them with the utmost care. Trying to show Bayou he wasn't so rough. "First is just try to relax. Despite what ya may think of me... I always treat my lovers well. Ya just really need to relax. One of the things I have planned, will hurt, but ya will grow used to it. Other things... ya just might enjoy them."

Bayou flinched at the touch to his doorwings, alarmed. "D-Don't touch those!" he cried, hurriedly trying to move away. "Th-They're sensitive..." It would be hard for someone to blame the mech for being tense and scared; not only did he sign himself over to the seeker for the sake of others, rather than himself, but also, this would be his first time having sex. He just couldn't get himself to relax.

Stranglehold wrapped his arms around Bayou before he could get away. Pulling he mech close so his back was pressed against his chest. "Tell me Bayou... what drove ya to make the deal?" His fingers stroked Bayou's front as he spoke. Sliding around to get to know the mech better. He kept his cables away for now. He wanted this to be personal.

Bayou's entire chassis was trembling now, and he watched Stranglehold's hands warily. "Wh-What are you talking a-about?" he stammered. "I-I did it so I could help the people on the outside."

The blue mech was tense in Stranglehold's embrace, not sure if he could trust the seeker to be gentle. "You weren't planning on letting me go anyway... I had to at least make the best of it."

"I don't know if any other would do what ya are doing. Giving yerself to me in exchange for the well being of others. I have never encountered someone like ya." Stranglehold could feel Bayou's trembling chassis. He wasn't going to just pin and steal Bayou. No, he wasn't like that. He wanted Bayou to ease up more before they played.

"I doubt you've ever considered that there are mechs with more than half a spark out there," Bayou said bitterly. He'd never been the type to put his own well being in front of those who needed help. For as long as he could remember, he'd always been doing what was best for others, not himself. At the time being, Stranglehold would have to work hard to convince Bayou to relax.

"I haven't." Stranglehold's words were like a dagger. Swift, sharp, and very unlike his normal tone of voice. Even his optics darkened and narrowed a degree. Moving his arms from around Bayou, he headed towards the bed. Glancing back over his shoulder. "There wasn't a reason for me to consider there was a kind spark out there.. I've never met one until now.."

Bayou stayed rooted to the spot where he stood. At the change of Stranglehold's tone, he felt his fear rise, and he mentally told himself to be more careful around the seeker. Just because Stranglehold had agreed to his terms, didn't mean he would actually follow them; especially the one about hurting Bayou. "That's because you've kept yourself isolated in here," he told him.

Stopping, Stranglehold turned halfway to look back to Bayou. Growling a bit, he walked back over. His hand moving to grab Bayou by his neck, but his fingers paused. Twitching and aching to grab the mech. "No hurting... that's part of our deal..." Forcing his hand down, he crossed his arms.

"My isolation is by my choice. My defense against everyone else." Those paned narrowed. "Why do ya think I remain in here? Remain shut in?"

Bayou immediately took a step back when Stranglehold reached for him. His fear was apparent now by the way his optics watched the seeker's every movement, and how his doorwings trembled worse than before. He didn't dare open his mouth to answer Stranglehold, in case he decided to ignore the deal and slam him face first into the nearest wall.

Stranglehold's own wings twitched before they flexed out from their position of resting to be out at his sides. "..why bother... Ya called me a tyrant. Ya called me many other things. Ya are true and ya are wrong."

Uncrossing his arms, he walked away from Bayou. His muffled boots barely clicking against the ground. Fingers flexing as he tried to subdue a natural rage. A reason why his cool exterior was up, why he held such a position... so he couldn't hear things like Bayou's words.

"And how am I wrong?" For the first time since meeting Stranglehold, the blue mech's tone wasn't rude, defensive or condescending. It was soft, confused and even hinted curiosity. He could almost see the rage that was emanating from Stranglehold, and wisely kept his distance.

Glancing out of the corner of his own red panes, Stranglehold looked to Bayou. "I wasn't born a noble. I killed the old noble and assumed his rank. Took his power... out of defense and need. A need to protect myself."

He scowled and put a hand over his spark. "I don't surround myself in wealth. This place was like this from the last noble. I only tore down to leave what made me happy..."

Grunting, Stranglehold looked away. "The outside world didn't concern me. I stay inside out of defense... I refuse to feel hurt again. I refuse to let any mech get the better of me..."

Bayou wanted to comment on how selfish that was, but he didn't fancy the idea of having anything broken. He couldn't understand the seeker's way of thinking. To escape your own pain by ignoring the suffering of others didn't make sense to him. Then again, he wasn't anything like Stranglehold. "So what happens if you do get hurt again... despite all of this?" He indicated the wealth.

Stranglehold snorted.

"I've been safe so far. This... this wretched noble's wealth means nothing to me. All it's good for is keeping the guards happy. Long as they are paid, they don't question me." He hated what was in the palace, but he kept up a facade and acted like he enjoyed it. He had to or he would have very unhappy guards, among others, on his hands.

Bayou listened carefully to everything Stranglehold told him. Contrary to how he acted, he never ignored someone's words. "If this money, this lifestyle and all its power don't make you happy, then what does?" he asked.

"You have everything any mech could ever want, so what part of it actually does satisfy your needs?" This mech was only serving to confuse poor Bayou even more.

Turning in his pacing, Stranglehold headed over to Bayou. Lifting his chin up so they were optic to optic. "The only thing that ever seems to satisfy me... is when I'm pleasing another. Those femmas I freed, they were what made me happy. Pleasing them, seeing the look of satisfaction... that was my happiness."

Bayou flinched at the touch, shutting off his optics, thinking he was going to be hit. When Stranglehold's fingers were gentle, not abusive, he dared to power up his optics and meet the seeker's gaze. "Then why not please others?" he asked softly, choosing his words carefully. "People would be happy if you would just give them the help they need. You wouldn't even have to leave the palace."

"...I never knew how. The old noble was cruel. I never learned anything from him. I never learned, nor did it ever come across, to ask. I can not ask the others here about kindness." Stranglehold gently stroked Bayou's cheek with his thumb.

"Only the femmas I had, and those from the past, taught me lessons... They were not enough for me to know... Why... Just why ya are a help to me. Why ya are here. Why our deal is the way it is."

Bayou shuddered as his cheek was caressed and dropped his gaze. Trying to look anywhere but at Stranglehold. He felt that if he looked into those crimson depth any longer, he would be consumed by something feral and hungry. What that something was, he didn't know, but it scared him. "I don't know how to teach anything," he protested, voice weak, doorwings quivering once more.

"Ya don't have to do a thing other than what ya are doing right now. All ya have to do is keep track of the energon and work with Fission." Stranglehold's own voice had slowly returned to normal. He had never divulged anything, to anyone before. Moving his other hand, he put it on Bayou's side, pulling him closer.

Gently, his hand on Bayou's cheek continued to gently stroke it before moving to a door wing. Resting on it and doing nothing more. "Knowing the energon is doing good... it does make me feel a little better, but you are still mine."

Doorwings fluttering in alarm as he was pulled closer, Bayou tried his hardest not to resist but did make a stifled sound of protest as the doorwing was touched. He'd had them ripped off before, so he wasn't keen on letting anyone touch them again.

"Why? Why me? What could *you* possibly want from me?" he asked weakly. "I'd be of no good to you in any other way."

"There is just one thing I want from ya." Removing his hand from Bayou's doorwing, Stranglehold put it back on Bayou's cheek. Gently turning his head back. Looking down, he leaned his head in to softly kiss the mech. Allowing his lips to linger with another small kiss. "I want you. I'm not the tyrant ya think I am. Let me prove that to ya."

A shiver ran through the blue mech's chassis. He didn't return the kiss, but he didn't flinch or fight it either. "H-how would y-you do that?" Bayou stuttered, not quite sure that he was ready for anything Stranglehold had planned. He still couldn't understand what appeal he held in the seeker's optics.

"I only know of one way." Stranglehold kissed Bayou again before he turned. Pulling Bayou along via the arm around his back. He wanted to get to the bed so he could show Bayou what he meant. Not just because of that... but because of something else. Something strange. Glancing down as they reached the bed, he lifted Bayou's head again. "Before we do anything... do ya trust me?"

Stranglehold couldn't have chosen a harder question to ask. Bayou didn't know how to answer, because a large part of him said no, while a more logical, albeit quieter part said yes.

"A deal's a deal," he finally sighed. "I'm going to have to, no matter what, so... y-yes..."

It was done and over with; Bayou had finally admitted defeat, and every ion of his being radiated his submission. His future was sealed as Stranglehold's personal slave, so he might as well go freely, rather than get hurt from hanging on to the last shred of meaningless pride he had.

"Good." Rumbling, Stranglehold kissed Bayou softly. Releasing him from his grip, he slid onto the bed, which was oddly soft. He then patted the bed to get Bayou to come on with him.

Hesitantly, Bayou followed, only to be briefly distracted by the soft buoyancy of the bed. He'd never been on cushions before. It was comfortable, but strange, and he wasn't sure just yet if he liked it. Nervously, he moved over next to Stranglehold, not sure what he was expected to do next.

"Why do ya always fidget when I touch yer door wings?" Stranglehold was curious. One of his hands moved to drum lightly on Bayou's leg. Moving the other around Bayou's waist to pull him close. His thumb gently rubbing the side armor.

Bayou tried not to squirm as he was pulled closer, and he didn't look at the seeker. "Because the last time someone touched them, they got ripped off," he muttered, sounding ashamed.

Stranglehold scowled slightly hearing that. Moving one of his hands, he turned Bayou's head. "I wont do that. Ever." He'd felt how it was to have someone tear into their wings. It did hurt like slag.

Bayou searched Stranglehold's face for sincerity, and after a while, nodded in acceptance; he would hold Stranglehold to that promise, and the seeker would know it. He quickly looked away again, his doorwings twitching with his nervous fear. He didn't know what to do, especially since he was expected to be the seeker's lover.

Stranglehold shook his head before he shifted slightly to get comfortable. He then pulled Bayou back against him. Rumbling softly as his hands slid down from Bayou's waist to his codpiece. "Ya said ya trust me, so lean back and relax. I'll take my time with ya." One hand moved to massage Bayou's inner hip as the other one rubbed along the codpiece itself.

Bayou yelped and half struggled, his face turning bright red as his codpiece was touched. "W-Wait!" he protested frantically, more frightened then ever.

"I-I've never d-done any of this b-before!" His blue optics flashed with the fear of an inexperienced mech while his chassis trembled.

Pausing, Stranglehold let his hands linger where they were. Moving his hand from Bayou's hip, he put it against his chest. Pressing him back. "Relax, Bayou. I told ya, I would take my time. I am an expert." Shifting slightly, he moved his hand to turn Bayou's head. Kissing his cheek.

Bayou continued to tremble, not sure if he should trust himself to the other mech. But something about Stranglehold's gentle tone made him want to trust him, if only just for a little bit. The kiss to the cheek was not something he really expected, but somehow it soothed him enough to nod his head. "A-Alright," he murmured shakily.

"Ya just say stop and I will." Stranglehold kissed Bayou's cheek again. Letting his hand return to Bayou's hip. Gently massaging it as his other hand moved to remove the latches before removing it completely. Setting the armor aside, he let his hand move back. Gently, his fingers slid along the underside of Bayou's rod first before wrapping his fingers around it.

Bayou quivered at Stranglehold's touches, and his intake valves hitched as he felt the brush of fingertips along his rod. His member had yet to begin hardening with arousal, his nervousness not exactly helping. He pressed his back against Stranglehold's cockpit, needing assurance.

"Tell me... have ya never done this yerself before?" Stranglehold was merely curious from the reactions he was getting. His fingers slowly stroked Bayou's rod to get him used to the feeling. Moving his other hand, he found one of Bayou's. Wrapping his own around his fingers, he pulled it up to press it against his chest. Rumbling in reassurance. He was taking things slow.

"N-Not exactly a lot of things on the outside to get tu-turned on for when all you can think about is when your next cube of energon will be," Bayou admitted, shamefaced. He knew the fundamentals of what happened in sex... he'd just never experienced any of it.

A small sound escaped him as his member was stroked, and he felt the faint stirrings of arousal.

"Hrm..." Grinning once more, Stranglehold removed his hand from Bayou's rod to set it down on his hip. Pulling Bayou's hand with his own, he wrapped both their hands around Bayou's own rod. Helping to teach him just how this worked. "Without the worry anymore, ya can learn. It's not that bad doing it alone, but it does feel good when another does it."

Bayou did not look very happy about Stranglehold's idea. He didn't want to learn anything. He just wanted to get his first time over with so that he could know what to expect from the seeker for the future. But it would be no use to argue, he was sure of that much. Hesitantly, he let Stranglehold lead him.

"Would ya rather learn by me helping or shall I just resume control?" Even as he spoke, Stranglehold continued to stroke Bayou's rod with his own hand. Either choice, this would wind up being a true first for everything it seemed. Which meant, Bayou would be feeling new and strange things.

"Wh-Whatever you want..." Bayou muttered, face turning red again. It didn't really matter to him, since either way he was going to be Stranglehold's toy. His hips jerked slightly at the strokes, and he bit his lip to hold back a moan.

Moving his head, Stranglehold nuzzled the back of Bayou's head. Deciding to switch hands. Holding Bayou's hand in his hand, the other returned to it's stroking. Rolling his thumb over Bayou's crown. Rumbling a little as he shifted to lean forward. Taking a lick to the back of Bayou's neck.

The blue mech gasped at the touch, a tremor lancing through his chassis. A faint whimper escaped him as his hips jerked again, his rod now hardening as bits and pieces of a foreign pleasure shot through his length.

"Its good, Bayou. Those are natural reactions. Don't worry about the odd feelings. Just lean back into me and relax." Stranglehold rumbled and kissed the back of Bayou's neck. He continued his gentle stroking. Rolling his thumb over the crown a few times with his movements.

When Bayou's rod started to get hard, he did move slightly faster.

Bayou moaned freely this time, hips bucking more and more with the passing seconds. It confused him as to how a touch like this could feel... so good. More so since the touch came from the one mech he was sure he would hate for all eternity. As instructed, he leaned back against Stranglehold, submitting himself to the pleasure he was receiving.

Stranglehold grinned and nuzzled Bayou. Changing his hand slightly, he did pick up his pace slightly. He wanted to let his cables out, but Bayou was still a virgin to all of this. Playing could come later. "Feeling good?" He rumbled as he continue to stroke Bayou. Causing a slight friction from his movements, but that only added to the pleasure.

Bayou's could only answer with incoherent gasps and moan. "A-Ahh..." His chassis was trembling with pleasure now, his rod completely hard within Stranglehold's grasp. Was it suppose to feel like this?

"I'll take that as a yes." Chuckling, Stranglehold continued to stroke Bayou's rod. Giving a slight increase to his stroking. Releasing Bayou's hand from his own, he moved it so he rub the mech's hip. There wasn't harm to adding a little more pleasure.

Bayou couldn't handle too much on his first time of feeling sexual pleasure. With a cry of confusion and bliss, he climaxed, spilling out over the seeker's stroking hand. Trembling violently, he cycled air rapidly, trying to calm down.

Stroking a few more times to help Bayou finish, Stranglehold pulled his hand back. Chuckling a little. Pulling the hand up, he licked it clean. Surprised at the taste. It did taste sweet. The first release from a virgin. Once it was clean, he set his hand down. Letting the other stroke Bayou's cheek.

"Ya were good for a first timer. That was yer release, yer climax. It happens when yer body comes to it's highest point of pleasure." Stroking Bayou's cheek, he allowed him to recover. Giving him time to straighten his own thoughts out.

What was going on in Bayou's head could hardly be called 'thought'. It was a jumble of words and feelings that clashed together explosively. Nothing was coherent. Shivering, he forced himself to stop focusing on his head, and focus on the air he was ventilating. Once he'd calmed down, he slowly registered Stranglehold's words.

"I-I know what a climax is," he retorted weakly. "I... just didn't know it felt like... like *that*."

He blushed with the embarrassed shame of virginity.

"Very pleasing." Stranglehold chuckled as he stroked Bayou's cheek. Moving on the bed, he leaned Bayou back down onto it. Grinning down at the mech. "There are better things in life too. That is just the first of many. There is one more thing that feels even better than that, Bayou."

Bayou didn't struggle as he was pressed down onto his back, but his hesitance was back, and it showed in his gaze. Watching Stranglehold's every movement, he stammered, "Th-There... is?"

"Yes." Stranglehold grinned with a chuckle. Moving himself, he began to remove Bayou's skidplate. Once it was off, it joined the codpiece on the side. "As before, time to take things slow. This one I must take slow or I could really hurt ya."

Bayou's optics flared with panic as the word 'hurt'. He'd had enough hurting for the time being, what with having his armor torn and beaten, and instinctively tried to move away. "You said you wouldn't hurt me!"

Taking hold of Bayou's hips, he kept the mech in place. Stranglehold then moved over Bayou to lock his legs between his own. One hand resting on his side, the other against his cheek. Gently stroking it with his thumb.

"Relax Bayou, relax. I said I wouldn't hurt ya. I haven't done a single thing to harm ya since our deal was made. I am still keeping true to my word." Leaning down, he softly kissed Bayou's lips. Trying to reassure him.

Bayou fell stiff, his fright causing him to cycle air rapidly. He stiffened when their lips met, not quite sure what to do, but slowly, he forced himself to relax. Submit, but not respond.

"Relax..." Stranglehold moved back off of Bayou. Rumbling softly and stroking his cheek. Leaning his head in, he whispered to the mech what he meant with the pain. Knowing once he learned, it probably would frighten the virgin even more.

And frighten it did. Servos and gears could be heard, clicking and whirling with his unbridled fright. "You want to do *that*?" he exclaimed shrilly. How could there possibly be any pleasure in what Stranglehold had planned?

There could only be pain to result from having a rod shoved up his aft! And who knew just how big the seeker was!

Well that wasn't much of a surprise reaction to Stranglehold. "Femmas have enjoyed it. I know from past experience that it is a very pleasing act. Pain is normal for virgins, but the pain goes away for a pleasure like no other."

He gently stroked Bayou's cheek. Grinning affectionately. "Ya don't have to go through with it. There are other ways of pleasure, but that one is the most fun."

Why did he not believe him? Sooner or later, Stranglehold would want to use that method no matter what Bayou said, so maybe it would be better to get it over with. Covering his face with his hands, Bayou whimpered, "Oh just do it before my gears burn out from worry!"

Pulling Bayou's hands down, Stranglehold looked down at him. Gently kissing his lips. "It will be fine. Ya are the one in control, even if ya don't think so. I only take the willing, Bayou. So just say stop and I will." Even as he spoke, his other hand had moved.

Since this mech was a virgin, he wasn't going to thrust himself in and tear his insides. Instead, he slipped a single fingers into Bayou's aft port. Giving him a small preview of the feeling. He'd add more to get the mech used to the feeling.

Just a finger or not, Bayou hadn't been prepared, and he yelped in alarm. It didn't hurt, but oh Primus, it as sure as slag was not something he would consider pleasurable. Whimpering with discomfort, he found his hands clutching Stranglehold's arms. "Y-You're sure i-it's going to feel good?"

"Some enjoy it, some don't." Stranglehold softly kissed Bayou as he moved his finger in the thrusting movement. "Ya are still a virgin. If ya don't like it, I wont do it. I'll simply resign to other things."

Bayou groan at another wave of discomfort, but didn't tell Stranglehold to stop. Logic told him he wouldn't know if he liked it or not, until he actually tried it. First thing first, was that he needed to relax, or else it would hurt more than it was suppose to. He needed a distraction. When the seeker kissed him, Bayou tentatively tried kissing back, to see where that would get him.

Rumbling softly, Stranglehold grinned receiving a kiss. He kept moving his finger in the thrusting movement. Noting to add a second when Bayou was more relaxed or it would just make things worse. He kissed Bayou back with a small lick to his lips. Asking for entry.

Trying not to squirm at the sensation of the finger moving within him, Bayou hesitantly parted his lips for Stranglehold. He briefly remembered the seeker's taste from when he'd ravaged his mouth in a desperate search for at least a single drop of energon. Would he taste the same without the energon flavoring?

Grinning slightly, Stranglehold deepened their kiss. Letting his tongue lick Bayou's lips again before slipping inside. Almost shivering himself. Virgins... they always had the best taste. Rumbling, he licked Bayou's tongue. His finger continuing to move before he cautiously added a second.

Bayou had only just barely gotten used to the first finger when the second was added, and again, the groan of discomfort was heard. This time, it was lost against the seeker's lips. Hesitantly, his tongue greeted Stranglehold's trying to decide if the invader was friend or foe. Cautiously lapping at the seeker's tongue once more, Bayou didn't realize he was beginning to relax.

Rumbling still, Stranglehold allowed Bayou's tongue to do as it pleased. Rubbing along side of it, his own retreated to encourage Bayou to explore his. Meanwhile, his fingers took a slow movement. Keeping to two until he was sure Bayou was used to them.

His own tongue following after the flyer's, Bayou continued to test and explore. Finally when he was sure he wasn't going to get any sort of brutality from Stranglehold, he let himself go. He attacked the seeker's mouth with the same sort of vicious hunger he had before, only this time, he wasn't looking for energon. He wanted to find out what made the mech enjoy this as much as he claimed he did.

Stranglehold rumbled louder as he was surprised with Bayou's reaction. Though he wasn't used to being more receptive, he allowed Bayou to do what he wanted. His hidden grin could only of grown as he let his own tongue react. With his fingers, he moved them to rub against the inner sensor nodes. Teasing and rubbing against them. Just to show and see if Bayou liked it.

Bayou's attack on Stranglehold's mouth ceased immediately as he cried out in surprise. He didn't know he had sensors there, and it had felt so... so good! "A-Again..." he whimpered weakly, wanting to make sure that pleasure had been real.

Stranglehold couldn't help himself but grin hearing Bayou. Moving his fingers again, he let them rub against the sensitive inner nodes. Gently rubbing his fingers against them. "Ya like that, Bayou?" He gently kissed Bayou's lips.

Gasping, Bayou's answer was to press back against the touch. His rod was getting hard again, and he was whimpering with pleasure. Unable to form words, he merely nodded numbly.

"Very sensitive." Stranglehold rumbled and softly kissed Bayou again. Keeping the movement with his fingers. Moving himself slightly, he kept with the movements, but moved so he would lick the crown of Bayou's rod. Virgins were so much fun.

Optics flaring, Bayou gripped the seeker's shoulders tightly. A pitched keening of pleasure made itself heard, and he bucked his hips wantingly. Perhaps this wouldn't feel so bad after all.

"I'll always treat ya right, Bayou." Stranglehold kissed Bayou's crown. He withdrew his fingers so he could gently massage Bayou's hips. Lowering his head, he began to lick the mech's rod. Taking his sweet time in tasting his new treat.

Bayou bucked again, whimpering in loss as Stranglehold removed his fingers. It had been starting to feel good, so why had he stopped? "Oooohh..." he groaned, not sure he could take this for very much longer.

"Don't worry. Ya'll be having more fun." Stranglehold smirked a little before he decided to have more fun. Along with a good way to taste his virgin. Licking his lips, he took the crown of Bayou's rod in. Gently sucking on it with a low rumble.

Bayou gasped in surprise, and tried to look at the seeker. "Wh-what are y - ooooh!" He couldn't finish his sentence, because more pleasure like he'd never experienced, shot through his chassis.

Hearing those sounds from Bayou were just music to Stranglehold. Letting his tongue run down the side of Bayou's rod, he let his head lower. Taking a sweet pleasure in his movements. Each working more to deflower Bayou, but he wouldn't be happy until he finally claimed Bayou as his.

Bayou's hips jerked with a whimper. His rod was throbbing again, and this time he recognized it as the signal of his coming release. The blue mech tried desperately to hold back and draw out the strange pleasure he was getting.

Grinning, Stranglehold let his tongue slid along Bayou's rod. Sucking gently on it to help coax his virgin out a second time. His fingers slipped into the hip joints to tease the wiring. Wanting to push Bayou just to that edge. There was plenty of time for more.

Crying out, Bayou hit his peak. His energy spilled from him as he shuddered and jerked as his chassis vibrated with pleasure. "A-ahhh!"

Stranglehold shivered at the untainted taste. Rumbling as he swallowed everything that came from Bayou. It's warmth lingering in his throat and his mouth. Pulling his head back, he gave Bayou's rod a few final licks to clean it before he sat back. Licking his lips again. "Ooh... Bayou, by far ya have the most sweetest taste."

Panting as he shivered, Bayou looked up at Stranglehold with a weak glare. "O-Oh... shut u-up..." he mumbled, face bright red in embarrassment. He felt so vulnerable and submissive. It was not a feeling he was used to.

"It's true." Stranglehold moved to relax beside Bayou. Turning his head to gently stroke it. Kissing his lips softly. "Ya enjoyed it though. Those sweet sounds, yer sweet taste."

Bayou blushed brighter and quickly turned his head away. Was this Stranglehold's way of calling him 'easy'? It wasn't like Bayou to submit like this, but it wasn't like he had a choice. He was not only inexperienced with all of this, but he was Stranglehold's property now. He couldn't fight him.

"Don't be ashamed." Stranglehold shifted to lean over Bayou. Gently turning his head to they were optic to optic again. "Ya enjoyed what I was doing. As I said, I wont do what I told ya, until yer ready. I'm not the tyrant ya thought I was, hmm?"

Bayou didn't answer, blush still on his face. Stranglehold said not to be ashamed, but he still couldn't help but feel that way. At the seeker's question, he looked away, blush becoming brighter as he mumbled something too softly to be heard.

"What was that?" Stranglehold lowered his head to let it sit on Bayou's shoulder. One arm was draped around Bayou's chest. Rubbing Bayou's side softly. Gently licking the mech's neck. Feeling the need to let his cables out to play, but he kept fighting the urge.

Covering his face with his hands in embarrassment, Bayou said it again, and though it was muffled, it was audible. "I said, maybe you're not *that* bad!" Oh, he would never be able to live this down.

Shifting to rest on his elbow, Stranglehold moved his hand to pull Bayou's hands down. "Thanks. Ya still need to relax. What's wrong with a little pleasure?"

Bayou looked at Stranglehold with an almost woeful look. He didn't think pleasure was wrong, but he was so confused, and that showed. He had no idea what to do, or how to do it, and the fact that the mech who held him under his power was the one doing it all to him... He just wasn't sure how to think about it all.

Stranglehold released Bayou's hands to stroke his cheek. Leaning his head so the crest of his helmet rested against Bayou's. He wasn't a mind reader, but he knew that look. "Everything takes time. Ya'll learn how everything works and ya'll be able to do what I do too. Learn to relax. Learn to trust me... Learn to see me as something more than a tyrant."

He kissed Bayou's lips again as he whispered against them. "I wont ever strike ya or purposely harm ya. My word, Bayou."

Bayou searched the seeker's optics, teetering on the border between trust and suspicion. Finally, he sighed and darkened his optics in defeat. "Teach me more..." he murmured, lips brushing against Stranglehold's as he spoke. He was this far already, there was no sense in going back.

Stranglehold grinned a little as he kissed Bayou's lips again. "I can teach ya what I've done so far, or I can go all the way with the last thing. It is yer choice." He kissed Bayou again. Lightly deepening their kiss.

Accepting the kisses with slight shivers, Bayou thought for a moment before deciding. "L-last thing..." he said, his fear of pain rising up again. He didn't want to hurt, but it would be better to do it now, rather than put it off till later.

"I'll take it slow. This will hurt, but ya felt how it was with my fingers. Don't be afraid to tell me to stop if it becomes too much." Kissing Bayou to reassure him, Stranglehold backed up to rest back on his legs. He glanced down to remove his own codpiece. A small sigh of relief escaping him as it felt good to let his own hardening rod out

Looking back down to Bayou, he put his hands onto his hips to pull him up. "Might want to grip the sheets, Bayou."

At the sight of the large rod, Bayou didn't need urgings. His fingers twisted into the sheets tightly, twitching nervously. He wasn't quite sure if he should regret not walking away before the deal had been struck. He looked up at Stranglehold, hoping, even trusting, that the seeker wasn't going to do him any harm.

Looking back down to Bayou, that grin of his almost looked like a smile. "Just say the word, and I'll stop." He gently rubbed Bayou's hips before he lined himself up. Gently pushing just the crown of his rod in. Groaning slightly at the tight feel.

Bayou's optics flared and he bit his lip hard to keep from crying out. Just the tip and already it hurt! His fingers gripped the sheets tighter and he whimpered, wanting to get the painful part over with.

To try and ease the pain, Stranglehold gently rubbed Bayou's hips. His cables finally being let out to slink into the armor gaps. Rubbing against hidden and untouched sensors to distract Bayou from the pain. Pulling out, he pushed himself in a little further. Keeping his optics on Bayou with each movement of his hips. Not wanting to tear Bayou's insides.

Bayou was trembling. He'd never felt anything like this before, and at the moment, it wasn't something he enjoyed. Slight tears were forming, but he refused to let them fall, and he shuddered as Stranglehold put his cables into play. It was distracting him somewhat from his hurting, but not enough to do some real good.

Stranglehold let one set of his cables wrap around Bayou's leg so he could slip his own fingers in. Gently massaging the nodes. Making it more personal. He continued with his movements. Pulling back and sliding more of his length in. His other set of cables retracted to wrap around Bayou's rod. Stroking it by wrapping them around it. Having them move up and down.

Bayou let out a muffled noise, his chassis trembling. He'd bit his lip so hard it was weeping a trickle of energon. This time when Stranglehold tried to distract him, it worked better than before. His intake valves hitched, and he whimpered, trying hard not to let his hips jerk. He'd had doubts about the seeker's rod fitting in his port, but the way Stranglehold was moving made him rethink a bit.

"Relax and let yer body move in react. Don't restrict yerself." Stranglehold rumbled to help Bayou relax. Being stressed out would do nothing for either of them. Even as he spoke, he never deterred from the movements. It helped to get Bayou into the groove so he knew what was happening. He kept his own hips moving slowly to push more of himself inside Bayou. Keeping it so the mech would get used to his size.

Bayou tried to cycle air steadily, powering down his optics so that he could get himself to relax. Bit by bit, he let go of his tense stress, and as he did that, his body accepted the invading rod with a little more ease. Pain was still there, but it was registering more as discomfort, than agony.

"Good. Just let yerself ease into it. Don't think about it. Just let it happen." Stranglehold continued to talk to Bayou to continue his reassurance. In a way, it was good for Bayou to be taken this way. Stranglehold knew what he was doing and kept reassuring Bayou to what was happening.

Virgins or meaner mechs wouldn't do what he was doing. Nor would they ever know how to make it easier, if they even wanted to. Grinning lightly, he just kept his optics on Bayou. Studying him to make sure he was easing and relaxing.

Little by little, Bayou had let his body relax, only to feel the assault of sensations that his stress had been blocking out. Whimpering at his own vulnerability, he powered up his optics to look at Stranglehold pleadingly. It was going to feel better, right?

Stranglehold's warm red panes caught Bayou's. Moving one of his hands, his cables kept Bayou's leg up, he gently rubbed his side. "Once yer used to my size, I can start showing ya. Ya can trust me. I'm not known for lies, Bayou." His voice was soft to reassure Bayou.

The cables continued to stroke his rod while Stranglehold's own moved in further. His hips hitched with a small groan when his length was pushed fully inside of Bayou. As far as he could go from his first run.

Bayou groaned, but whether it was from discomfort or pleasure was undecided. "I-I think... I think I'm okay n-now..." he stammered. Pain had faded, and it was just the discomfort of foreign sensations. He shuddered as his rod was stroked, and his doorwings twitched slightly.

"Good. Now comes the more interesting part." Stranglehold rubbed Bayou's side before moving his hand back to Bayou's hip. That grin of his remained there before he started to move again. This time he pulled himself halfway out before pushing back in. Keeping the motion slow and steady until he could find out just what Bayou enjoyed.

Bayou made a small sound of unease. It felt so strange; certainly nothing he was used to. The pain had started again, although it was more of a dull throb rather than a flaring hurt. He tried to move in rhythm with Stranglehold, to get used to it, and it seemed to a be of some help.

"Good." Stranglehold nodded his head as Bayou was starting to get into the hang of the movements. Once Bayou got into the groove of the movements, he hitched his hips when he filled the mech. Grinning, he went back into the movement, but with a slightly increased pace. Getting a little friction with what he was doing.

Bayou moaned, the discomfort beginning to fade. Steadily, he was growing accustomed to having the seeker inside of him. "F-Feels... a bit b-better," he stammered before groaning again. Stranglehold had just barely moved over the sensitive nodes that he'd earlier touched with his fingers, flaring a brief moment of pleasure within the blue mech.

Chuckling lightly, Stranglehold kept up his movements. Slightly increasing his speed as Bayou grew more used to him. Switching a set of cables, he had them wrap around Bayou's hip so his hand was free to stroke Bayou's rod in turn with his thrusts. He wouldn't of minded if the mech came. Normally his own release was enough to trigger another, which he could feel was going to the edge. Moans and groans often did that to him.

Bayou's hips bucked against Stranglehold's and he groaned once more. His rod was aching from the attention he was receiving, threatening to bring him to release. Pleasure was setting in, faint but there, yet he wanted the insane pleasure he'd gotten from when the seeker had found his sweet spot. "Nn... p-please.." he groaned.

"Please what?" Stranglehold raised an optic ridge. Curious to what Bayou was asking him for. His hips hitched up when Bayou bucked back. His hand continued to stroke Bayou's rod as he kept up his thrusting. Having a pace he liked, he bucked himself with a bit more strength to get a reaction.

Bayou cried out at the harder thrust, his entire chassis quivering. It had hurt a little, but there had been a lot more pleasure. "Th-That...!" he whimpered, gasping. "A-Again... pl-please..."

Stranglehold had struck his sweet spot that time.

Chuckling, Stranglehold was happy to oblige. He kept up the decent pace he had, but he changed to switch into harder thrusts. "Seems we found something ya like, Bayou. Good. This is very good." Oh, he was very pleased to know these new things.

With a light chuckle, he only had to make a small adjustment as he started thrusting harder into Bayou. His own faint groan slipping past his lips when he felt that his own rod was wanting release, but he knew how to hold himself back.

The blue mech cried out again, pleasure to be heard in his vocals. His body jerked as spasms of delight passed through him. Before he could ask for more however, he hit release. With a cry, his hot energy spilled out over his abdomen, rod throbbing from the sensation of climax.

Grinning, Stranglehold wasn't going to deny Bayou more fun. He rumbled hearing his soon-to-be-deflowered mech cry out at his own release. Hitching his hips, he continued his own thrusting before gripping Bayou's hips and thrusting himself deep as he could before coming to his own release. Moaning out slightly louder than he would normally as he finally de-flowered and claimed Bayou as his.

Bayou almost screamed as Stranglehold penetrated him deeply, filling him with his hot load. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and he wasn't sure on whether he should feel good, or disgusted. The mech who held him captive had just spilled into him and thus branded the blue mech as his property. Part of Bayou felt upset, while another was satisfied. He now had a lover that he didn't think he could ever love.

Bucking his hips to make sure that he finished, Stranglehold finally pulled himself from Bayou. He moved to the side so he could rest down on the bed. Not much caring for the mess as it could easily be cleaned up. Grinning, he moved a hand to turn Bayou's head to him. Kissing his lips with a whisper. "Ya enjoy yerself, my lovely Bayou?" He lets his lips linger as those red optics peered down.

A deal was a deal. Bayou bit back his despair and submitted himself to Stranglehold, weakly kissing back. "Y-Yea..." he murmured, sounding tired. He dimmed his optics to match the exhaustion in his voice, not wanting Stranglehold to sense his sorrow and get mad at him. Bayou would be strong, if not for himself, then for the people who would depend on him for energon rations.

"There's one more thing before ya recharge, Bayou." Stranglehold stroked Bayou's cheek with another soft kiss before he moved back. Sliding off of the bed itself, he pulled Bayou to the edge to spare him the trouble. "Time to shower while the bed gets cleaned."

Reluctantly, Bayou got up. As he got up, he staggered, pain slamming into him. Fresh from his first intercourse, his poor assaulted body wasn't used to the after effects. Falling back onto the edge of the bed, the blue mech whimpered. Even sitting hurt!

Stranglehold almost seemed to wince when Bayou fell back with a whimper. "Lets do it this way.." Kneeling down, he put one arm under Bayou's back and the other under his legs. Picking Bayou up, he was careful not to hurt Bayou further. He had forgotten how it was for virgins. Casting an apologetic look, he carried Bayou to his personal shower.

"Wh-What are you...?" If it didn't hurt so much to move, Bayou would have been struggling wildly in protest to being carried in such a manner.

"I-I can walk just fine!" he lied, face turning bright red with embarrassment.

"Yer in no condition to be walking. Why I'm carrying ya." Stranglehold didn't comment on the look. Once in the showers, the door leading shut and locked. He kept Bayou in his arms as he entered the actual shower.

The cables moving from his wrist to put it on. Even adjusting the temperature. Nodding in satisfaction, he stepped under the water. Carefully setting Bayou down onto his boots, but keeping himself right there in case the pain was too much.

As much as he didn't want to, as soon as Bayou was set down, he was forced to use Stranglehold for support. He couldn't stand on his own at the moment. For the time being, he was too occupied with keeping himself upright to look around at the shower room in awe. He'd only ever been to public washracks, never something private or lavished like this.

Keeping an arm around Bayou's waist, Stranglehold used his cables to grab one of the washcloths set in the shower. Taking it carefully, he began to clean Bayou's chestplate off. "Put most of yer weight on me." He wasn't going to let Bayou fall or cause himself more pain.

The blue mech didn't need to be urged to do so. Half leaning of Stranglehold, half leaning on the wall beside them, he let Stranglehold do as he pleased. "Why do you have those things?" he asked, watching the cables warily. They looked like they came in handy, but there had to be some other purpose to them.

"Hmm?" Stranglehold looked down to the lingering cables before they retracted back into his wrist. Grinning slightly when he realized what Bayou was referring to.

"I've always had them since the day I came online. They are handy tools for me and I can manage them each on their own. I use them for getting things out of reach, mostly small things, or bigger things by adjusting their strength. Not just that... but they work well when I'm with a lover."

"Hn. I noticed," Bayou said dryly. His systems dragged at him, optics flickering as true exhaustion, not just that of a mask, began setting in. Stranglehold had worn him out; Bayou hadn't counted how many times the seeker had gotten him to release, but it was enough to make the stressed mech very tired.

Moving the cloth down, Stranglehold used it to clean off Bayou's rod first. Rinsing it off in the water, he guided Bayou, or mostly moved him himself, to hold the mech against his chest. His spark beating under his armor.

"We're almost done. Try not to move." He said this as he lowered the cloth. Moving it around Bayou's aft port to clean it. Keeping careful, he slipped two of his fingers in with the cloth, to clean around the inner edges.

Bayou gasped as his rod was cleaned, trying not to move. His doorwings twitched as he tried to ignore the sensations, but when Stranglehold progressed to his port, he cried out. Clutching the seeker, he pressed his face against the crook of Stranglehold's neck, entire chassis quivering. It hurt and felt good at the same time. At the moment though, he mostly registered pain.

Putting the cloth up, Stranglehold had his cables grab another. One much softer, but he didn't use it just yet. He let his cable hold it so his hand was free. Holding Bayou's waist with one arm, the other gently rubbed up and down his back to help soothe him.

"The pain goes away, but ya need to be clean. I'll wait till yer ready." He continued to gently stroke Bayou's back. Listening to the water drum a beat on their chassi.

Bayou trembled in Stranglehold's arms, trying to get his chassis to cool down. Finally, when he was able to stop shivering, he mumbled, "I-I think I'm ok.." He kept his face pressed against the seeker's neck, and held onto him tightly. If he let go, he would probably collapse.

Keeping his arm around Bayou's waist, Stranglehold kept it tight so he wouldn't drop down. "We're almost done. Once yer clean, we'll retire to my bed." He rubbed the back of Bayou's back again before taking the softer cloth in his hand. Using more care than normal, he wasn't used to this, he slipped the cloth and two fingers in to gently clean around the inner aft port. He took his time and care to make sure he didn't cause Bayou more pain.

Bayou's doorwings twitched the entire time, and although it wasn't painful this time, it was still not something he liked to feel. "Y-You done yet?" he whimpered after a moment, words muffled against the seeker's throat.

Pulling his hand back, Stranglehold tossed the cloth away to where the other one was. Gently rubbing Bayou's exposed aft. "I'm done. Ya can relax now." His hand moved back up to rest on the end of a door-wing. Gently rubbing it there.

Slowly, Bayou allowed himself to relax, but still clung to Stranglehold tightly. He jerked as his doorwing was touch, instinctively pressing them closer to his chassis so that they wouldn't be as easy to caress. The blue mech produced a soft keening soft as one was rubbed, shivering at the feeling.

"I told ya I wouldn't hurt ya. That includes yer door-wings." Stranglehold wanted to prove that fact. He used his cables to turn the shower off as he continued to gently stroke the door-wing. "What do I have to do to prove that to ya?"

Bayou trembled even more, doorwings rattling against his armor as he kept them tightly pinned to his body. It was instinct to try and prevent someone from doing him harm; he couldn't really trust anyone with his doorwings yet, and didn't know how to have someone prove their trust worthiness.

"I-I'm tired Stranglehold..." he murmured, hoping to divert the seeker's attention elsewhere.

"Three times for a virgin, I'm not surprised ya haven't passed out in my arms." Stranglehold didn't like to give in or be defeated, so Bayou was a constant challenge for him. He sighed slightly. Moving his hand from the door-wings, he gave in to a partial defeat.

Shifting his weight, he moved to hold Bayou by his aft to lift him up. Holding him much like a parent would with their sparkling. Backing up from the shower, he carefully carried Bayou out. The doors unlocking by registering his form. He didn't say a word as he carried Bayou towards the side door which held Bayou's own room.

Bayou made a sound of protest as he was carried, sounding rather outraged by the undignified manner that he was being held. With hands on his aft, he felt like he was being groped, but he couldn't really move out of Stranglehold's grasp without collapsing. "Y-you're enjoying this, aren't you?" he grumbled.

Glancing down into his arms, Stranglehold raised an optic ridge. "This is a most uncomfortable situation... but I doubt ya were going to let go for me to carry ya another way." Reaching Bayou's own bed, Stranglehold shifted around so he could set Bayou down on the soft bed as easy as he could. Releasing his aft first before he sat on the edge to let the rest of the mech go down.

Bayou hissed in pain as he was put into sitting position, and tried to rearrange himself as quickly as he possibly could so that he was laying down. Sinking into the soft cushioning, he groaned with the pleasure of comfort, ready to fall into recharge here and now.

Dim optics looked up at Stranglehold and he mumbled, "Maybe you're not *that* much a tyrant." He blushed as he said it, looking away.

Stranglehold chuckled lightly. "Yer comment is appreciated." He softly rubbed Bayou's side before reaching over to grab the sheets. Everything he had was more than any other mech could dream of. Pulling the sheet over Bayou, he let it rest above his waist. Decency so Bayou's aft and rod weren't exposed.

Sheets. Everything here at the palace was a thing of luxury; except for Bayou. A peasant partaking in the things only the finest of nobles could afford. Was he lucky, or cursed? The price to pay had been his freedom after all. Feeling exposed in a way more than just the lack of his armor, he fidgeted. "So... I'll be living here from now on, then..."

"Ya." Stranglehold nodded his head. A hand resting on Bayou's side. "This is yer room. Ya can do anything ya want to it to make it more comfortable for ya. There is very little I can not gain..."

Stranglehold paused in his thought. Glancing away then back for a moment. An optic ridge raising. "Where did ya stay before my guards caught ya?"

For the longest of times, Bayou didn't answer. When he finally spoke, he managed to make it sound like it was no big deal.

"Here and there," he replied. "When one place got too crowded or began falling apart, I would always find somewhere else to be."

Stranglehold's optics narrowed a degree. Not at Bayou, but more for the things he was being told about. "Did ya have anything ya left behind? Friends? Family?" He was truly curious. His mind already mulling over things about how bad things really were.

It wasn't that he didn't know or didn't care, he just never concerned himself with it. Too many painful memories he'd rather not remember.

Managing to roll into a position that didn't discomfort him, Bayou answered with ease. "No, no, and no." For a mech who moved place to place the way he did, belongings that couldn't be fit in subspace were only a hindrance.

Friends could be more trouble than they were worth, usually getting in debt with one illegal group or another, and his creator had passed on vorns ago after a confrontation with a dangerous contact.

"...so ya know the feeling of being alone then." Stranglehold simply watched and listened to Bayou. Those red panes almost seemed to darken as he himself spoke. Friends, he never had. Family, he never knew his own creator, just the former noble he himself killed.

"I... wasn't alone..." Bayou responded, looking away. "I... took care of others when they needed help..." Mostly young mechs and femmes without parents who would always seek some sort of help; either with getting even half a cube of energon, or with finding a place to stay. He'd been like an older brother to some of those young ones. Playing with them when times got tough, just to help keep their spirits up.

One of Stranglehold's wings twitched as he finally stood up from his spot. "Then consider yerself a lucky mech that ya don't know loneliness." With his back to Bayou, he brushed off a few droplets from his chassis. Keeping his more solemn expression hidden.

Bayou didn't answer. True, in company, he hadn't been alone, but in his mind, and his spark, he felt the ache of loneliness battering away at him. Only he had strived for better conditions when others accepted what was. Only he tried so hard to keep the future generation alive. Only he had fought the fate that was so against him.

His burden was a heavy one, made heavier now that he had struck Stranglehold's deal. Make sure the people were fed, and be at the call of whatever pleasure Stranglehold wanted. When one thought of it that way, it was truly a loneliness in itself.

One of Stranglehold's hands moved to rub the area above his own spark casing. Mumbling something low to himself before raising his voice. "Ya should get yerself into a recharge. There will be energon available tomorrow and ya have work to do." He himself wasn't going to sleep. There was something he would have to tend to before he could ever allow himself to recharge.

"Hn." That was the only reply Stranglehold would get from Bayou for the rest of the night. Moving slowly so as not to hurt himself, Bayou rolled onto his side so that his back faced the seeker. It didn't take long before he promptly fell into recharge. Even in his sleep, Bayou looked stressed; it wasn't something he could avoid. Life on the other side had taught him not to sleep in ease.

Glancing over his shoulder, Stranglehold watched Bayou for a moment. Letting an unheard sigh escape his lips, he headed to his own bed. He first put Bayou's armor in the same room with him. Returning to his own bed, his own armor was replaced. Only he removed his own chest armor to let it rest on a table beside the bed. He kept it there just for his armor.

"Fraggit..." Cursing softly as his hand rubbed his aching spark casing. Getting into the bed himself, he didn't bother with the sheets. One hand was allowed to rest on his scarred spark casing as he couldn't rest with his chest armor on. Staring up at the ceiling, his red panes finally dimmed to let sleep claim him.


	5. Chapter 5

Bayou slept through the entire night, a rarity for him. When morning came, he was still asleep, too comfortable and tired to want to move.

Stranglehold however woke up easily. His fingers twitched over his spark casing, causing a small surge that awoke him. He hissed a moment before rising from his bed. Rubbing over the nicks, he slipped off his bed. Grabbing his chest plate, he set it into place as he headed to a small storage unit in his room. He took two cubes out before he made his way to Bayou's room. The cubes were set down on the table beside it.

Warm red panes trailed along Bayou's chassis. "Ya can not sleep all day, Bayou. Time to wake up." Leaning down, he softly kissed Bayou's cheek before sitting back up. Gently rubbing his door wings. Knowing they always got a reaction out of Bayou.

Stranglehold's voice would have been enough to wake the blue mech; life on the outside had him trained to wake at the smallest of sounds. Optics snapping open, he let out an odd sound and quickly pressed his doorwings against his back, away from Stranglehold's touch. Oh primus, everywhere was sore. Groaning as he tried to move, he simply gave up and pulled a cushion over his head.

"Go away," he moaned. "And don't come back until everything stops hurting!"

"It's going to hurt for awhile." Stranglehold gently rubbed Bayou's side. Keeping his hands away from the door-wings until Bayou knew he wasn't going to harm them. "Seems we'll have to wait until tomorrow for ya to get back into yer work. Try to drink something though. It'll help yer body."

"Work..." Bayou repeated, taking a moment to remember what was being referred as his job now. "No... I have to do it today."

He forced himself up, wincing as his chassis protested to movement. Realizing he was still disarmored, he saw his armor pieces nearby and hurriedly put them on. Hurt or no hurt, he had to make sure that energon went out.

Picking up one of the cubes, Stranglehold put it in Bayou's hands. "Then drink up. Yer not going out until yer re-engergized. It will do no one good if yet out of energy." He didn't bother picking up the second as he didn't grab it for himself.

Grudgingly, Bayou stayed down and accepted the cube of energon. He drank it slowly, not wanting to get a buzz on the day he was suppose to be overseeing the energon distribution. "You assembled the number of mechs I asked for?"

"Once yer ready, they will be called and will meet us in the energon storage. There was no need to call them off duty when we are not even ready to go." Stranglehold stayed with Bayou. He had no where else to be and right now, whether Bayou liked it or not, he was needed.

Finishing his cube, Bayou nodded and made to get up. He staggered slightly as he got to his feet, but at least the pain was nothing more than a dull throb; easy enough to ignore. It was sitting that he made a mental note to avoid.

"Fine then, let's go." He looked at Stranglehold expectantly. He hadn't been shown how to get around the estate, so he needed the seeker to lead him.

Grabbing the second cube, Stranglehold got up as well. He gave it to Bayou before he started for the door. "Even if ya don't drink that one, keep it in hand. . Can ya walk on yer own this time?" Not that he had a problem with letting Bayou lean. It more for Bayou's reputation and pride. . . Which by now was probably thin to none.

Bayou glared daggers at the seeker. "I can walk just fine," he snapped.

True, his pride had sunk into a bottomless, black pit, and he could feel his shame eating away at him, but he would not let it show. He would regain his pride, somehow.

"Good." Saying not word more, Stranglehold kept walking towards the main door. It unlocked with a click when it registered his form. He opened the door before glancing back to where Bayou was.

His red panes shifted back to the guards. He then spoke in another language, which had the guards leave. "Good... They'll get the others."

Bayou arched a brow ridge at the language Stranglehold spoke to the guards with. He new several languages, but he'd never heard that one before. Keeping silent, he followed after the seeker, this time making sure to pay attention to the directions they took.

Grinning to himself, Stranglehold enjoyed the language he knew. The last noble taught him. About the only good thing to come from he noble as the language was all but dead. "Tell me, how did ya get so good at calculations?" It was a conversation piece and he really was curious.

"I'm not stupid," Bayou growled, sounding offended.

"Before it got torn down several vorns ago, I used to attend the Academy." He didn't explain any further than that. It wasn't really Stranglehold's business.

"The Academy?" Glancing over his shoulder, Stranglehold raised an optic ridge. "What is the Academy exactly? I've never heard of it before now."

Bayou gave Stranglehold an odd look. The Academy had been one of the most prestigious universities on Cybertron, how could he not have heard of it? "It *was* a university. A mech could study anything there, no matter what the field or programming. It was well known for its military and scientific achievements."

"Why was it torn down?" Stranglehold was truly curious. He never knew of such an Academy. The only thing he could remember was pain, hiding, and killing. Most of that always took place inside or just outside of the palace.

"Apparently, the nobles in this city did not take to kindly to the idea of commoners getting an education." Bayou spoke bitterly. It may not have been Stranglehold's doing, but he felt that it might as well have been. He did not feel to open and forgiving to those who used their money and power for their own satisfaction.

Stranglehold's wings twitched as he listened. "Are there any teachers left out there?" He was wondering if it was possible to change things. Though the outside still held no real concern to him, it did to Bayou.

Shaking his head, he mumbling something to himself. Why exactly did he care if something mattered to Bayou? Not like Bayou gave a slag about him, so why should he care about Bayou or the outside?

"Plenty," Bayou replied. "All those drunken wretches being thrown out of the bars. A majority of them are the old professors who lost their purpose in life when the Academy was destroyed. Now they get cratered on a daily basis, hoping that they'll overenergize themselves enough to die."

Bayou was trying to get under Stranglehold's nerves, attempting to see if any of this mattered to the seeker.

The only sign of anything else but content was being displayed by Stranglehold's wings. They twitched slightly as he listened to Bayou. "Ya really seem to know a lot about the outside. More than others that have been taken in from the outside. ."

Stopping, he half turned to Bayou. They had reached the storage while they had been talking.

"That's because I'm the only one paying attention to what others are suffering, not my own," Bayou said firmly. He met the seeker's gaze without flinching, a stubborn, set look on his face. He may have to submit to Stranglehold in bed, but he was going to make it his responsibility to see to the needs of the people where Stranglehold wouldn't.

"And that's how ya wound up in this deal." Stranglehold didn't give the appearance that anything was bothering him. He was still seen as a un-trusted tyrant in Bayou's optics. No real reason to care about others when no one gave a slag about you.

Turning his head and his body, he pushed the doors open to the energon storage to walk in. Saying a single and sharp word to get the mechs to attention. "Here ya go. Yer 60 mechs."

Bayou's face darkened in anger, but he kept any retort he had to himself. Brushing past the seeker briskly, and into the room, he looked over the three-score of mechs before him. They all looked capable of following orders, it was just the matter of whether they would or not.

"All of you have been chosen to help me for a reason. Starting today, I will be in charge of energon distribution among the city." He watched their reactions carefully.

"You will be divided into teams and each team will be assigned a sector. Each team will also be given a transport carrier loaded with space converters filled with energon rationing enough for every mech, femme and sparkling in the city. Only one converter per individual, and I want you to seek out every single person you can to make sure they get their energon. Search every alley and run down building, but do not let anyone walk away without fuel. If you run out, come back and I will supply you with more. Am I understood?" From the way Bayou stood and spoke, it became obvious that he had military training. He was going to make sure things ran smoothly.

Stranglehold was impressed with Bayou. His guard certainly picked the right mech out. Be it random, but it was too interesting to lay it on anything else. He couldn't lay it upon fate or a god, because he didn't believe in such things. Shoving those thoughts aside, he entered the room when some of the mechs started to object. He barked a single word and they instantly stood alert and stopped talking.

"Ya all are under my strict orders to do as Bayou told ya. I put him in charge and ya are to obey these orders. Understood?" He looked to Bayou when all of the mechs responded with a "Yes, Master Stranglehold."

Bayou had expected objections, and let Stranglehold deal with it, not once looking at the seeker. "Split into groups of three, and come line up to get your assigned sector and your transport carrier," he instructed them firmly. He watched them obey, and from after that, his mind registered nothing but work.

Red panes watched as the day was finally rolling to an end. Stranglehold was quite entertained by how Bayou had handled the mechs. Other than the occasional snap, he had let Bayou handle everything.

Now that it was the end of the day, the last of the mechs were either returning or taking the last shipments out. Flexing out his wings, he moved away from the wall he was leaning against to approach Bayou. "Looks like everything is done. Are ya done for the day?"

The day went by as a haze to Bayou. He hadn't taken a break once, and avoided sitting down. He treated everything calmly and fairly, especially when problems arose. He didn't snap or punish mechs for things they had no control over.

When things finally wound down to a stop, Bayou snapped out of his working trance when Stranglehold spoke. "Wh-what? Done?" He looked around to realize that the day's work was indeed over. "Oh... y-yes, I think so..."

"Then it's time to retire." Stranglehold didn't bother putting a hand on Bayou's shoulder. His hand was more resting on his own chest. Feeling small pangs of pain that he didn't let register on his face.

"Some energon would help. Ya haven't stopped since we entered this room." Yes, he had been watching the entire time. It was notable for him to see how Bayou thought and worked.

Bayou was in a daze, where he noticed very little and didn't argue with anything. "Y-Yea... sure," he murmured. He took two cubes of energon and handed one to Stranglehold, keeping one for himself although he barely touched it. It had been a hard day of work. Harder than just working a construction zone.

"Come on." Stranglehold ignored the small surges of pain. Having one hand free, he used it to help guide Bayou out of the storage room and back to their adjoined rooms. He didn't even take a sip of his own energon. It only made the pain worse.

Bayou followed without complaint. As minutes passed, he was slowly coming back to awareness, and by the time they reached their room, his processor has fully rebooted. "Were you watching all day?" he asked quietly.

"For the majority, yes." Stranglehold handed his cube off to one of the guards. Mumbling about not needing it when the guard looked confused. "Ya did quite an impressive job with handling the others. If ya held a rank within the guard themselves, ya would be the head of them with that kind of work."

"Wouldn't want to be head of the guard," Bayou replied. He glanced at Stranglehold and caught something that looked like pain in his expression. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Stranglehold grinned to try and hide how he was hurting. Pushing the door open to his room, he walked into it first. Rubbing over his chest. Knowing he had to get rid of his chest plate. The pain was getting worse. "Ya best go and relax, Bayou. Ya had a big day."

Bayou narrowed his gaze at the seeker suspiciously. He was hiding something... but what? "If you say so..." he muttered, making his way to his room. As soon as he was inside and the door hissed shut behind him, he climbed onto his bed, and sank down onto the cushions with a sore groan. He was so tired, yet wide awake.

Glancing in Bayou's direction, he watched and waited until the door to the room was shut and locked. "He should stay there... urg... Frag this pain..." Stranglehold hissed as he quickly removed his chest plate to toss it onto the bed. Grimaces as he put a hand over his spark casing. Rubbing it with a hiss to try and ease his pain.

Going around his bed, he sat himself so his back was to Bayou's door. Just in case. "Frag... this hasn't hurt me in cycles... why now of all times?"


	6. Chapter 6

Bayou was restless, and he didn't know why. He'd had a long exhausting day, so shouldn't he have passed right out? Tossing and turning, unable to get himself into a good recharge, he sighed and sat up. Perhaps it was stress again... he had been expecting Stranglehold to jump him in bed as soon as they were in his room, but the seeker had simply waved him off. Wasn't that a good thing?

Recharge and having fun were the furthest of things from Stranglehold's mind. He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his spark casing. His cables coming out to slip into areas to help smooth out the tension. He couldn't be in peace until the pain was at least numbed.

So far, it wasn't going so well. His wings were pinned almost painfully down against his back. The only way to relieve the tension from his spark. Odd, but it was slowly helping.

Sighing again, Bayou got off the bed and headed for Stranglehold's room. Maybe if he... talked with Stranglehold, he would rest easier. What he would talk about he had no idea. Door hissing open, he saw the seeker on his bed, back towards him. "S-Stranglehold?" he called unsurely.

Strangehold's wings twitched, but he didn't seem to register Bayou's voice. Most of his attention, since he never expected to be disturbed, was on the pain. Though hearing Bayou's voice, his wings extended out almost in a hurry. Causing him to hiss in surprise. Lifting his head, he glanced over his shoulder. "Ya?"

Bayou hesitated, wondering if he was interrupting something. Whatever it was, Stranglehold's electromagnetic field was sending out erratic pulses that indicated pain. "Are.. Are you alright?" he asked, moving forward.

"I'm fine, Bayou. Ya need something?" Stranglehold tried to keep up a false grin. He never bothered the medic that worked in the palace. No need to let anyone know a weakness he had. Even more a reason to keep up his facade with Bayou.

"You're a bunch of things I can think of, don't make it worse and be a liar too," Bayou said sternly. He kept moving towards the seeker, walking around the bed, noting that Stranglehold's chestplate was lying on the cushions.

"Your electro-field is all over the place. Something is wrong." Bayou couldn't stand seeing others in pain, tyrant or not.

Watching Bayou, Stranglehold let the facade drop as his own defenses rose. Growling lowly with narrowed optics. "It's nothing to concern yerself with. Go back in to yer own room." His voice was stricter and more in the tone he used with his guards.

Bayou paused, then scowled. "I'm not one of your underlings, that doesn't scare me" he growled, when in truth he was terrified. "I'm stuck with you so I'll concern myself with whatever I want."

Stranglehold snorted. "Go concern yerself with someone else. I do not need yer conc-grah!" He clutched his spark casing and leaned over as a stab of pain shot through his spark. Gritting his dental plates as his hidden vents opened. Releasing hot air to cool down his systems.

In that spasm of pain, Bayou took the chance to rush forward. His optics widened as he saw glimpses of the spark casing from between Stranglehold's fingers. "What happened to you?" he asked, trying to help ease the seeker's pain.

Lifting his head, Stranglehold glared back at Bayou. A much more lethal and defensive one as the pain subsided for the moment. "Torture. That's what happened to me. Having wings ripped off is nothing compared to a laser chipping away at yer very core."

His hand moved away to reveal the spark casing. Everything else except a few cables leading to it were new. The cables held small nicks, but nothing compared to his spark casing which was nicked and littered with marks. Small pieces were missing from all along his chassis and larger parts were just tiny chips taken. All in all... it was the second worse kind of pain. First was having the spark itself crushed.

Bayou's optics flared in horror, and he looked ready to purge, but held back the reflex. He did however lose all feeling in his legs, and sank to his knees in front of Stranglehold.

"Who... who did that to you?" he asked weakly. "Who could ever... do such a thing?"

"Ya call me a tyrant... This was done by the past noble. He was a true tyrant." Stranglehold growled as he remembered. "Keeping up this facade on the outside, but he enjoyed torture on the inside. He had me chained and he chipped away at my spark. I had no attachments. I had nothing... There were no deals for me... Nor were there screams... My spark looks like this because I refused to scream. Refused to give in."

Bayou's optics were locked on Stranglehold's scarred insides, his doorwings trembling. How truly pathetic he must seem to the seeker. He hadn't faced one one-hundredth of his pain, yet he'd given in. His hands were on Stranglehold's knees, and he was unable to keep them from shaking with fear and horror.

"And it still hurts... " it wasn't a question, but an out loud observation.

"I sleep without my chest plate every night." Stranglehold moved a hand over his spark casing. Fingers going gently over the area. It actually. . . felt good to tell someone else about his pain. It almost seemed to dull it. "It's been hurting me worse lately. My spark flares and it reminds me of just how painful it is to bear these scars."

"Haven't you talked to a medic about it?" Bayou asked, sounding worried. He wanted to touch the abused spots and try to ease the pain, but he wisely decided that it might not be a good idea to try.

"Yer the first one to know since my chassis was first repaired. No one else knows about my problem." Stranglehold scowled.

"No one should know. The moment I was strong enough, I killed the noble. As for the medic... I let him live, but he wont be telling anyone. He knows the moment I learn he told someone, both the one he told and himself will die..." He was extremely defensive about his one weakness.

Bayou shuddered at the ruthless willingness to kill that Stranglehold harbored. Would that apply to him as well? Would he be killed, now that he knew? His doorwings quivered even harder, and his fingers flexed against the seeker's knees. At least he was glad that Stranglehold hadn't taken a liking to torture others the way the previous noble had.

Stranglehold's red panes trailed down from his own spark casing to his knees. He watched Bayou's fingers flex and could feel the mech shivering. Everything he had said and with the tone he held, anyone would of been terrified.

His optics continued to trail until he caught sight of Bayou's own. Noting how his entire chassis, especially his door-wings were quivering. He hadn't made a single move against him as his hand either remained on his bed or his spark. "Bayou. Look at me."

Bayou continued to tremble, and somehow managed to tear his gaze away from the marred insides of Stranglehold's body, and up to his face.

Releasing his hand from the bed, Stranglehold put it beside Bayou's cheek. Despite what he had been talking about, his hand was very gentle. "Bayou. Remember our deal?"

Bayou tried not to flinch, but couldn't help it. He was glad when the touch was not hostile. "Y-Yes..." he stammered faintly.

"I... wait..." Stranglehold moved to slid off of the bed. Kneeling down next to Bayou with his hand still on Bayou's cheek. He leaned his head in to gently kiss the blue mech's head. "I said I wouldn't harm you. I made a deal and I've been keeping to it."

Bayou was surprised when Stranglehold lowered himself down so that they were face to face. He didn't move when the seeker kissed him, only watched him carefully. "Y-Yes... you have..." he mumbled in agreement, again thankful the seeker hadn't taken the same path as the previous noble. Gaze darting quickly to the open chest in front of him, then back to Stranglehold's face, his doorwings still quivered.

"I'm not about to break it now." Stranglehold glanced to those quivering door-wings. The hand moved away from his spark to take hold of one. His fingers hovered above one before it took another path. Taking one of Bayou's hands, he pulled it close to rest against his scarred spark casing. Wincing slightly, but he suffered.

Taking deep breaths to keep his systems cool, his red panes looked into Bayou's blue. Gently stroking his cheek. "I told ya. Ya can trust me. Ya know my weakness, but I haven't threatened or tried to harm ya... I'm even letting ya touch it.. Ya can trust me. I wont ever harm ya, Bayou."

Bayou shuddered as his fingers were placed on the mutilated spark casing, and more than ever, he wanted to purge his tanks. It had been hard enough to look at, but to touch the result of a warped processor... it made Bayou's spark hurt. It was also a great taboo to touch another's spark case unless one was a medic, or bonded to the other. His urge to soothe the pain in front of him however was great. His thumb carefully rubbed the abused case, and he lacked the courage to look Stranglehold in the face as he did, hurriedly dropping his gaze.

Stranglehold was, as things went, an atheist. He didn't believe in gods, the supernatural, or taboos. Anything that didn't have logic, he didn't care much about, so he didn't think about repercussions of letting Bayou touch his abused spark casing. He did though hiss slightly at the thumb movement. Touching and moving were two different things.

"Now ya see why ya are lucky. Ya only had yer door-wings torn off. Ya probably had someone to look after ya and ya looked after others. Ya don't, nor will ya ever know what it is like to be in near constant pain and to be isolated and alone." Moving his hand, he moved Bayou's head so they kept optic to optic. In his own, without the well practiced facade, was loneliness, was pain, was sorrow.

"I am no noble, Bayou. I don't remember much from my early years, but ya lived better than I ever did." Stranglehold had to say that, just to get it through to Bayou that he wasn't born into this life. He was thrust into it.

Bayou hurriedly removed his hand as soon as he heard the hiss of pain, a panicked look of apology on his face. He hesitantly met Stranglehold's gaze, and for the first time, didn't feel worthy to be in the same room with the mech. The seeker had suffered so much more than he ever had, and still found the will to live. If that wasn't strength, Bayou didn't know what was. "I... I'm... sorry.."

"Don't be sorry. It's the past." Stranglehold didn't like to mull in the past. What happened, happened. Not just that, but he wasn't as strong as Bayou would think. He did often wish that he would of just died, just to end the pain from the torture, but he was kept alive. Unable to die and end his pain, so, he suffered.

Suffered and lived.

Suffered so he could kill the noble and end his falsehood. "Let the past drop. It happened and nothing can be done about it. I live with the pain and the memory, so that's it. Drop it and leave it. I don't need pity."

"No... not just for that..." Bayou said, shaking his head. "I... I'm sorry I was... so selfish... for calling you all those things, when I know nothing about you..."

He lowered his gaze to the floor. He didn't have the right to judge Stranglehold when he knew so little about him.

"I've been called worse and I've grown used to the comments. Let others think as they will. It stopped bothering me vorns ago." Stranglehold lifted Bayou's chin up. He could speak so easily about insults to himself and they didn't even alter his voice. "Ya were never to know about me. I'm just a tyrant ya made a deal with. A hated tyrant. Nothing more."

Bayou didn't say it aloud, but he was starting to see that there was something other than a tyrant in Stranglehold. In fact, he didn't think he could hate the seeker quite so much as before now that he knew a little bit about him. Hesitantly, he leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the seeker's lips before pulling back with a blush and hurriedly scrambling up to his feet.

"You... should get some rest..." he said quickly. "A-And apply a coolant patch to your sparkcase... it'll help cool the excess heat and take away a bit of the hurt..."

Red panes flickered in surprise at the kiss. He didn't do anything to provoke it, Bayou just... did it. It was actually quite nice. A small grin slid to his lips as he watched Bayou. Taking his own time to get back up. Chuckling slightly at the suggestions. "I'd sleep if I could. As for he coolant patch... I never use anything. I'd rather suffer and be in pain than use anything."

Bayou frowned at that. "Why would you prefer to suffer?" he asked in confusion.

"You'd sleep easier if you used a patch." The blush was still on his face, but not as vivid as before

"My medic has the patches. I don't trust him." Stranglehold always made sure he kept his chassis in peak condition. Keeping those under him in fear or having their respect. Even when he had damages, he watched his medic.

Moving, he sat himself down on the bed. Taking a breath as hot air expelled out of his vents. A hand resting over his spark. "So I suffer. Since the first mark was made on my spark casing, I've suffered."

If you couldn't trust a medic, then who could you trust? So Stranglehold's followers were mechs to doubt; Bayou kept that in mind. Cautiously, he sat next to Stranglehold, trying to ignore the discomfort that sitting down gave him. "Stranglehold... I *can* trust you... right?" he questioned softly.

Turning his head, Stranglehold looked back over to Bayou. Moving one of his hands, he pushed Bayou onto his back before he leaned down onto an elbow. "It's more comfortable to lay down. To yer question, yes. Ya can trust me. Why?" An optic ridge raised curiously.

Bayou yelped in surprise as he was pushed down, grabbing onto the seeker's arm, which ended up with pulling Stranglehold on top of himself. Blush coming back, he forced himself to continue.

"Well... if I can trust you, then... then you can trust me..." He met Stranglehold's gaze, nothing but truth in his optics. "I won't do anything to hurt you... same as you promised to me."

Twin panes blinked as Stranglehold was pulled down. He supported himself above Bayou with an arm so his chest, particularly his spark casing, wasn't pressing against Bayou. That would of hurt. He looked back down with a slight grin.

"I already trust ya. Ya know about my past. I'm letting ya know, without a treat or a show. It's my trust in our deal, but mostly in ya, that allows me to see." He chuckled lightly with that soft grin. Those red panes held warmth and even... relief from a burden.

Bayou glanced away, blush brightening with embarrassment. "I... I guess staying with you won't be as b-bad as I thought..." he mumbled. It was the closest thing to accepting his future without a fight, that Stranglehold would get from Bayou. But he would still have to deal with the blue mech's stubborn streak.

Chuckling, Stranglehold gently turned Bayou's head to him. Carefully leaning down to kiss the mech's lips. "It's appreciated too. The less stress on my spark, the better things will be-urg..." He hissed and put a hand over his spark.

Quickly, he angled his wings and pushed himself to be on his back. Panting a little to get air in. He couldn't be face down, he had to be on his back. "Fraggit... not now... Why wont this go away..."

Startled, Bayou bolted upright as Stranglehold moved away. He watched the agony flit over the seeker's features, and felt like his own spark was hurting. No one deserved such hurt. Cautiously, he moved over to Stranglehold's side, trying to help in some way. He took one of Stranglehold's hands in his own and leaned down to shyly kiss him soothingly. "I-Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"The only help that ya could be... if to tell me why my spark hurts me more..." Stranglehold turned his head to look over to Bayou. He hated having his weakness being shown, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do. "...this fraggin pain just seems to be worse when I'm around ya... Makes no fraggin sense..."


	7. Chapter 7

"Y-You're blaming me?" Bayou looked shocked, and even hurt by Stranglehold's words. He couldn't understand what was going on either. It actually frightened him. He wasn't a medic, so he couldn't diagnose this at all.

Stranglehold shook his head. "I'm not blaming ya. It's every time I get close to ya, my spark acts up. Almost pressing against my casing. If it wasn't so damaged... this shouldn't hurt, yet it does." He didn't believe in destiny, fates, or even that there was such a thing as true love. Not even the concept of mates or pre-determined destiny registered with him. There was no such thing, yet he couldn't explain why his spark acted the way it did.

Why did that sound like something he'd read in a scholar's story? Familiar yet foreign. "I... I don't know.." he replied, sounding scared. The hand that held Stranglehold's tightened it's grip slightly. "D-Don't look at me like that, I don't know what's wrong!"

Stranglehold shifted as he moved his hand to pull Bayou down. Softly kissing his lips. "Relax. It's probably nothing but just a coincidence. I've never been this close to anyone without having something planned. Nor told anyone about myself." His own hand tightened. The other moving to rest above Bayou's.

Bayou didn't like not knowing what was wrong in a situation, that much was apparent by his sulky expression and the way he fidgeted about. He returned the kiss without fuss or complaint, and even went as far as to lay down beside the seeker, pressed as close as he dared without causing Stranglehold discomfort. He didn't even release Stranglehold's hand.

Stranglehold did find it strange to be next to another without actually doing anything, but it was somewhat nice. He turned his head so he could kiss Bayou's cheek. Gently nuzzling the mech with another small kiss. "Hrm... This... feels nice..." He rumbled and softly kissed Bayou's cheek again.

Bayou found that he had to agree, even though it was something strange for him. Hesitantly, he nuzzled Stranglehold in return, welcoming the soft kisses to his cheek. Turning his head slightly, he captured the seeker's lips in a soft kiss of his own, blushing slightly as he did.

Rumbling softly, Stranglehold kissed Bayou back. This really felt good. He was actually enjoying when he was getting the kiss, though he couldn't explain why. Shifting slightly, he leaned in to kiss Bayou again. Licking his lips to silently ask for permission to enter.

There wasn't as much hesitance this time. Bayou parted his lips almost eagerly for Stranglehold, granting him the access he sought. This did feel good. Better than before even, and he groaned softly into the kiss.

Grinning slightly, Stranglehold moved his other hand to rest on Bayou's cheek. Leaning his head in to deepen their kiss. His tongue slipping past Bayou's lips to mingle with his. Rumbling softly as he gently pulled Bayou closer. Feeling oddly more pleased with this than anything else he had done before.

Tongue greeting Stranglehold's, Bayou practically melted into the kiss. At the moment, he couldn't remember why he'd ever tried to fight Stranglehold, and gladly allowed himself to be pulled closer. Willingly, he submitted to the deepened kiss, moaning against the seeker's mouth again.

Stranglehold was surprised at how easy this had happened. He was curious, but didn't outright question it. So distracted by the kiss, that he didn't even notice that his spark had stop hurting. Moving, but never breaking the kiss, he shifted himself so he was leaning over Bayou. This way he could even deepen their kiss. His hand tightened around Bayou's own while the other moved to rest behind Bayou's head.

Even if he was asked, Bayou wasn't sure he would have an answer. Hungrily kissing back, his free hand moved to rest on Stranglehold's hip, the other squeezing the seeker's hand. He didn't need experience to tell him that Stranglehold was a great kisser.

Parting there kiss for a moment, Stranglehold grinned. "I never would of guessed that we could of had this much fun in something this simple." His lips brushed past Bayou's. He was careful not to let his chest press against Bayou's. Not wanting to feel more pain... but there wasn't any pain. That made him blink in confusion. "The pain... it's... gone..."

It took a moment for his spinning processor to calm down, and for the words to sink in. "It.. it's wha..?" he slurred, just as confused as Stranglehold. He blinked and looked at the seeker's exposed chest.

"My spark doesn't hurt. Not even the numbed sense of pain... I've always felt numb... never pain free." Stranglehold was bewildered. This was something that worried him. He'd never felt this way before and it almost scared him.

"Isn't that... good then?" Bayou asked, looking at the worried look on Stranglehold's face. This was odd. More than odd, it was bizarre. From what he was being clued in on, Stranglehold was acting up only around him.

"Any other occasion would make me happy, but this only happens when I'm with ya." Stranglehold looked back down to Bayou. He just couldn't figure it out. Of course he did find a odd attraction to Bayou, but that couldn't explain this. "Did... did any of yer teaching tell ya about these things?"

"I attended the military programming, not the medical," Bayou told him, shaking his head. "I've read a lot before, but the closest thing I can pin this to is a sappy romance writing."

"Romance..." Stranglehold's wings twitched before he shook his head with a laugh. "Romance doesn't exist in this world. Nothing of that exists. Especially between us.."

Now why did that hurt? Oh yes... because forever on, his hopes for love would be impossible. "For some it does," the blue mech mumble sullenly. "Just because we haven't had any doesn't mean it isn't somewhere for others..." He looked like he'd been stabbed in the back, his expression sad and lost.

Stranglehold just knew, the moment he trailed off, he had said something wrong for his spark had that numbed pain return. Looking down and seeing that expression made him frown and feel almost lost. Odd emotions that he never felt before. Leaning his head down, he gently nudged Bayou. Kissing his cheek. "Sorry. Don't be sad, Bayou." He rumbled and nuzzled Bayou again.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Bayou said defensively. "And who said I'm sad?" What Stranglehold had said had really hurt. Bayou wanted to be able to find his significant someone to love, but that was not really an option for him anymore. It made him feel more like a prisoner than ever.

"It's yer expression." Stranglehold started to move before stopping. Why exactly did he care about Bayou's feelings? When did he start caring about anyone else for that matter? Pausing, he glanced away before looking back. "...ya really do believe in things such as love, don't ya?"

Bayou looked away, still feeling hurt. "I could hope... even if I was never good enough," he murmured softly. Love never came to the peasants, so maybe he should have doubted it as well.

Adjusting himself so he wasn't leaning his spark casing on Bayou, Stranglehold used his free hand to turn Bayou's head back to him. Softly kissing his lips. "Ya are good enough." He rumbled as he gently stroked Bayou's cheek.

Bayou didn't fight the kiss, but he didn't return it either. "How would you know?" he asked. "You don't believe in love, do you?" He wanted to cry for some reason, but that would make him look weak. Crying was forbidden.

"I don't believe in a lot of things, Bayou. I don't believe in fate or in gods. I don't believe in love... as I don't know what love is." Stranglehold turned his head away. It was true. He had no idea of what love actually was. "Ya at least know about it... Don't listen to a tyrant who doesn't know a slag." Moving, he got off of Bayou to sit back up. One hand resting over his aching spark. Wondering why it was hurting again.

"You aren't a tyrant," Bayou said in a hushed voice, turning onto his side so that his back was towards the seeker. "And I don't know anything at all... Academy or not, I'm still a peasant. I'm not allowed to love, same way that you don't know love." Blinking back tears, he half-curled into a ball.

For some reason, it was actually hurting Stranglehold to see Bayou like that. He was feeling annoyed with himself, but he just couldn't help himself. Shifting his weight, he moved closer to Bayou. Leaning down onto his side to move a hand over Bayou. Gently pulling him closer so he could kiss the side of his helmet. "Ya know more than I do and yer not a peasant. I may not know what love is, but ya are allowed to it." He nuzzled Bayou's head softly. Kissing his helmet with a low rumble.

Bayou didn't respond, his lips pressed tightly together into a bitter frown. Stranglehold was wrong. He wasn't allowed to love and never would be. Even though his feelings were hurt and his body ached along with his spark, he leaned back slightly against the seeker, taking care to avoid his spark case. At least Stranglehold was trying to be good to him.

Stranglehold gently kissed Bayou's helmet again. Murmuring something in that other language of his. One long-dead. Only the guards knew a few words, which were only for commands. He was one of the very few that knew and could speak the language flawlessly. He wanted to ease Bayou into everything, wanted to ease his pain, but he didn't know how. "Bayou..." Wrapping an arm around his waist, he pulled Bayou close to him. Shoving his own pain aside, and gritting his dental plates as pain surged through his system when Bayou's back was pressed against his chest. He let the air vent out from his systems to keep his chassis cool. It hurt like slag, but he forced himself to suffer.

Bayou tilted his head slightly towards Stranglehold when he heard the words in that strange dialect. He had no idea what was being said, but it was... soothing. As he was pulled further back though, and sensed the spike of pain in the seeker, Bayou tried to move away. "Stranglehold, d-don't," he protested. "It's hurting you."

"It's nothing I haven't felt before, Bayou. The pain I have will go away in time and just become numb. The pain I caused ya doesn't go away so easily." Stranglehold ignored his own pain, refusing to let go of Bayou. His head leaned down so he could softly kiss Bayou's helmet. Murmuring something to him in the other language again. Applying a small, reassuring nuzzle to almost give a glimpse into the meaning of the words.

Bayou didn't like causing others pain, but Stranglehold was holding him too firmly for him to move away. "Wh-What are you saying?" he asked, confused by the strange words. "I haven't heard that language before." He turned his head to look at Stranglehold, feeling an unexplainable comfort from being held in the other mech's arms and nuzzled so gently.

"I'm not surprised. The language has long since been spoken by anyone. Only the last noble and myself know the language." Stranglehold softly kissed Bayou's audio before he continued to speak. "I can't give a strict translation, but in general I was saying not to worry. I want to help ya, not hurt ya."

"It... It sounds nice to listen to," Bayou murmured. "Say something else?" He placed a hand on the arm that was wrapped around him, steadily falling into a lapse of comfort and calm. Now if only he could help Stranglehold stop hurting.

Stranglehold's breath hitched slightly with a spike of pain. He had to keep pulling air in and expelling it to keep his chassis from overheating. Grinning softly, he started to whisper something else to Bayou. His tone of voice slightly changed with his words. Almost like it was a story... or a song, but a translation wasn't offered.

Bayou wished he knew what was being said, for it sounded nothing short of beautiful. Carefully, he turned around in Stranglehold's embrace so that he could face him, cautious not to press against his chest. Pressing his face against the seeker's throat, his lips brushed over the cables in a kiss, and he listened to Stranglehold speaking, drinking in the strange words like the finest energon.

Grinning at Bayou, Stranglehold continued to speak in the language. Feeling almost happy as he never got to speak it before now. No one understood and he never care to give the time to a listener, so having Bayou enjoy it was nice. His spark did flare when Bayou moved, causing his voice to falter for a second, but he was quick to pick the words back up. He shivered slightly at the kiss. Angling his head, he let the words fade off as he kissed the top of Bayou's helmet. The pain in his spark felt like it was getting numb again. A normally good sign, but he just couldn't help but be curious. He started to speak again, but he cleared his throat to return to their normal language. "Bayou, would ya let me remove your chest plate?"

Bayou had been slipping into a trance as he listened to Stranglehold, but as soon as the other mech cleared his throat, he snapped out of it. "You... what?" he mumbled in confusion before the words sank in. "Um... I-I suppose you c-could b-but... why?" He fidgeted slightly, not sure where this as going. "I-It's um... not exactly... nice and shiny in there..." he mumbled, shame faced.

"Ya will see. I also doubt yer spark could look worse than mine." Stranglehold softly kissed Bayou's helmet again. Murmuring in the other language to sooth him while his fingers moved. Once the latches were off, he removed it to set it behind them. Shifting slightly, his red panes looked down to Bayou's spark. His fingers flexing with his dental plates gritting as he felt his spark flare. A higher spike of pain than before threw his energy field into the Pit.

Bayou was a bot made for manual labor, so all his gears and pieces were either dirty or worn out. He couldn't afford proper cleaning or tune ups. Stranglehold's insides may have been marred, but at least he was clean. Bayou could feel the spiking flare of the seeker's energy field, and as close as they were, his field clashed with Stranglehold's, letting him feel what the other did. Bayou cried out, unprepared as an unimaginable pain struck him through the energy field. So that was what Stranglehold was feeling; Primus that felt horrible.

That cry actually pained Stranglehold. He moved his arms to wrap around Bayou to pull him close. Since the pain was already there, it couldn't of gotten worse, so he didn't even register when their spark casings were so close, almost touching. Whispering to him as his own vents radiated the hot air. "Take deep breaths and ride it out. The pain goes away." Only he could be so calm despite feeling the very same pain. He nuzzled and spoke in the other language. Trying to soothe Bayou to help distract him from the pain.

Entire chassis trembling, Bayou's hands clutched Stranglehold's arms as he gasped in pain. He'd never felt anything like this before, it was absolute torture! How could Stranglehold live like this? Any distractions the seeker tried were useless, Bayou couldn't concentrate on anything other than how much it hurt.

Sighing, Stranglehold just held Bayou close. Kissing the top of his head. Letting him ride out the wave of pain. In his own chassis, he could still feel it, but his tolerance for it was much higher than Bayou's. He whispered in the other language as he held Bayou. Kissing his helmet with a nuzzle. "Sorry, Bayou. Ya were never suppose to feel that." Moving a hand, he stroked Bayou's cheek. Lowering his head, he softly kissed Bayou's lips. Murmuring against them as he looked into his optics. He kept trying to be a distraction. He didn't pay heed to how his spark was reacting to such close contact with Bayou's.

Bayou could hardly produce any sound; his vocals had locked. His chassis twitched with spasms of pain, and tears rimmed his optics. Why wouldn't it stop? He pressed himself against Stranglehold tightly, hardly aware of their touching sparkcases, or that his spark was pulsing wildly, trying to reach out of it's case toward the other essence it could sense close by.

Stranglehold's logical side told him to get away that it was his pain that was causing this, but he couldn't abandon Bayou. Something in his mind, in his spark, told him to stay close. To keep him held tight. "Bayou..." His own spark kept pulsing much faster than normal. It was starting to cause himself even more pain and he was becoming uncomfortable. There was only one thing he knew that had drowned out pain in the past, but could he really do what he had in mind? He almost caught himself praying before shutting that down. "Bayou... forgive me..."

Bayou could barely hear Stranglehold, but that didn't stop him from trying to speak. "St... gle.. ld.." His voice was nothing more than broken bursts of static, and he clutched the seeker tightly. Against his will, tears began to flow, and his consciousness began slipping. And yet, the blue mech struggled to stay awake.

Everything just hurt and not because of his pain. Stranglehold didn't want to see Bayou in pain and he couldn't bring himself to do what he wanted. He held the mech tightly in his arms. Holding him close. Softly kissing the top of his helmet. "Let sleep claim you. It's the only way to escape the pain. Trust me. There's no shame in it. Bayou... please... just go to sleep." His speech altered and he was nearly begging. Seeing Bayou suffering was tearing at him. He didn't know why, he didn't care why. All he wanted was the pain to end for Bayou. The poor mech never asked for any of this, so he shouldn't be suffering.

Bayou's optics flickered, despair on his face. He forced himself to move, despite how much it hurt, and leaning forward, pressed his lips firmly against Stranglehold's, trying to will away the seeker's pain as well. If this was the pain that Stranglehold lived with every day, then he was going to try his hardest to help the mech stop hurting. "D... on't... urt... ny... mor.." He forced out from his static vocals.

Surprise was on his face as he didn't expect Bayou to move. None of his pain was of his own. It was just an energy field transfer. Despite himself, he kissed Bayou back. Feeling his spark flare again, but it didn't hurt like before. It felt almost... warm. "Bayou... Don't talk... I don't want to see you in pain. Just sleep... You wont be in pain... It wont hurt as much for me..."

A crackle of static escaped the mech, and it would take a moment for Stranglehold to realize it was supposed to be a laugh. "L... iar..." he rasped out, a pained smile on his face. "Fee... ing... your hurt... ot... mine.." There was a brief break in the flux of pain, and he took advantage of it to kiss Stranglehold again, his hands seeking out his lover's.

"Bayou..." Stranglehold actually grinned. Bayou was constantly amazing him. He rumbled in surprise before kissing back. Moving his head to deepen it for a moment. His fingers flexed when they were touched. Eagerly wrapping and holding onto Bayou's tightly. Parting their kiss, he let his lips linger. "Bayou... would you let me... try something? This is my pain, not yours. I want to do something, but would you... let me?"

Lacing his fingers with Stranglehold's, Bayou listened to him carefully, chassis occasionally jerking with a fresh spasm of pain. Unable to use his vocals effectively, he only nodded and kissed the seeker again, trying to relay the message, 'I trust you.'

Kissing Bayou softly, Stranglehold shifted his weight so Bayou was back down on the bed. He moved to slip his legs between Bayou's own. Hearing his own spark almost whining as he pulled his chest back. He reluctantly pulled his hands away from Bayou's so he could remove the armor from the both of them. Massaging Bayou's hips, he slid the mech's legs around his own waist as he held his hips. "Forgive me if this causes more pain than pleasure." Rumbling, he lined his rod up before slipping his entire length into Bayou with a single thrust. Groaning as he felt his spark flare in his chest. Odd reaction.

Bayou screamed as a pain that was his own engulfed him. The sound was a mixture between voice and static, and tears poured down the blue mech's face. This was only his second time, and he was still as tight as the night before. Oh Primus it hurt so badly, but... he trusted Stranglehold, and that showed as he looked up at his lover with flaring optics.

Leaning slightly over, Stranglehold gently stroked Bayou's rod. Speaking in that other tongue. Trying to apologize. It was strange, but he wanted to try and ease the pain. Of course he was distracted and forgotten this was only Bayou's second time. At least they were not sharing pain anymore. Slowly, he stroked Bayou's rod as he began to move himself. Keeping a slow movement out, but he tried a hard thrust. Wanting that sweet spot he knew that he found the last time they did this.

Bayou's vocals were unlocking, but they still held a hint of static. Bayou clutched the cushions beneath them, crying out as pain shot through him each time Stranglehold bucked. He hadn't even waited to let him adjust! Despite the hurt, Bayou's rod was hardening, arousal creeping over him as the seeker thrust closer and closer to his sweet spot. When that spot was finally struck, Bayou screamed in maddened pleasure, nearly climaxing then and there. Tears continued to fall, and Bayou tried, but couldn't stop them. After being held back for so long, they needed to be let out.

Stranglehold did know he should of allowed time for adjust, but he did have Bayou's best interests in mind. At the time anyway. Stranglehold continued to stroke Bayou's rod. His hips bucking to rub against the sweet spot now that he found it. He wasn't at his own peak yet and Bayou had yet to come. Rumbling, he looked down to Bayou. Frowning at his tears. "Bayou..." Wanting to kiss him and making him better, Stranglehold kept his thrusts up to keep rubbing against Bayou's sweet spot. At least his pleasure was replacing the pain or so he hoped.

Cries of pain began turning into gasps and whimpers of pleasure. His entire chassis ached, but the pain wasn't as prominent anymore now that pleasure was setting in. Bucking in time with Stranglehold, he roughly wiped his tears with a hand, trying to make the heavy flow stop. "Nnn..! S-strangleh-hold...!" he gasped, looking up at his lover pleadingly.

Looking down at Bayou, Stranglehold's red panes were oddly brighter than normal. Hips fingers flexed as he gripped his lover's hips with both hands. Something deep told him to hold on. "Yes, Bayouuu!" The mech actually cried out Bayou's name as he thrust his hips. His rod penetrating further as it kept hitting that one sweet spot until he bucked with a last thrust. Moaning out Bayou's name again as his rod penetrated further than it had before. The moment he was fully in, he hit his climax with a cry. It was nothing like he felt before as even his spark flared when he came.

"A-Ahhhh!" Back arching, Bayou cried out and whimpered as his body was roughly invaded. It was hurting so much but it felt so good! Optics flaring as Stranglehold's release exploded hotly within him, he screamed. Shuddering violently, his own climax was hit, spilling his energy out over his abdomen. At the same time, he could feel his spark, pulsing wildly, the bright glow almost blinding.

Stranglehold's spark continued to flare beneath his scarred chest plate. Even as his climax came and went, he was feeling a tiredness deep in his system. It was strange as he never felt something like that before. "Bayou... what just happened..?" He didn't pull out of Bayou as he didn't want to. To do that... it almost made him feel devoid of something.

Panting heavily, chassis quivering, Bayou was otherwise unmoving beneath his lover. "I... I don't know," he rasped, confused and frightened by what had just happened. His spark was still acting up, although it was starting to calm down a little bit. What he did know however, was that he didn't want Stranglehold pulling out jest yet.

Cautiously, Stranglehold moved a hand over his spark. Fingering it and oddly feeling less pain than he had moments ago. Carefully, and for the first time, he parted the latches to open it. Looking down into the near-blinding white and yellow as it pulsed within his chest. Beating in a rhythm. "It doesn't... hurt anymore..."

Bayou stared, confused. At the sight of Stranglehold's spark, his own began to pulse wildly once more, as if struggling to get out. "What's... going on?"

"I don't know." Looking back down to Bayou, Stranglehold wondered for a moment. Carefully, he moved down to lean over Bayou. One hand moving to keep him balanced while the other went to Bayou's spark. His red panes looked to Bayou. "Remove your spark cover... Trust me... this final time.." His hand moved from Bayou's spark to wrap around one of his hands. Holding it tightly.

Bayou's optics widened, and a jab of nervous fear shot through him. What was Stranglehold going to do? Hesitantly, his hand moved to rest on his spark case before doing as told. Trembling fingers undid the case latch, and the bright blue and white glow spilled over his fingers.

Stranglehold spoke softly in that other language. Those red panes looked down into Bayou's own blue. He was nervous too and it was plain to see in those normally guarded optics. His spark kept pulsing within his chest. "All or nothing..." Leaning himself down, he pressed his chest against Bayou's. The moment his chest was down, his own spark reached out to Bayou's. Once the two touched, it sent a wave of pain straight through his spark, straight through his core and in his chassis. For the first time ever, he actually screamed out from the sudden surge as it engulfed his entire chassis. Be it a moment, but it seemed like an eternity.

Bayou screamed in unison, pain and horror in his voice. He immediately knew what was happening, and he didn't need the rush of memory swapping or the feeling of his spark merging with Stranglehold's to tell him what it was. No, no, no! He didn't love Stranglehold, so why? He'd trusted the seeker, and now... it felt as if he'd been betrayed. Spark-bonds couldn't be broken.

Stranglehold didn't know what this was and he was completely offguard. Deep in a guarded part of his mind, where nothing could reach, not even this link, he himself felt horrified. Yet he couldn't break the bond as he almost tried and it felt like his spark was being ripped in half. As in near completion, he could feel Bayou's hurt. He could feel his own spark wanting to soothe the pain, but this was his fault. His fist closed tightly around Bayou's hand. In reaction, his spark tried to soothe Bayou's own.

Bayou felt Stranglehold's hand, and his spark reaching out to comfort him, but he harshly rejected it. As soon as the process was over, and his spark had retreated back into it's casing, Bayou shoved the seeker off of himself, rolling to get off the bed. His body protested in pain but he ignored it and fled into his own room, anguish resonating in his every ion of being.

Stranglehold didn't fight it. He simply sat there on his own bed. His spark, if it had a voice, would of been crying. Though in his mind, he was cursing himself. Only now did everything sink it and come down on him. Hitting and cursing, he let his wings sink down so they were pinned back. Laying on his back, he stared up at the ceiling. "...I'm bonded... He's bonded... I really am a tyrant. I hurt him... The deal... is broken." His optics shut down. Moving a hand, he closed his spark casing. Keeping it inside despite what it wanted.

Bayou sat huddled on his bed, hot tears pouring down his face, and this time, he didn't try to hold them back. Why? Why did this happen? How could Stranglehold have done this to him? Despair rang through the blue mech in such a way that he didn't notice the way his spark was flaring, as if calling out for Stranglehold. He trapped. Trapped in a spark bond to a mech he didn't love.

"...end..." Stranglehold sat up slowly. Grabbing his codpiece, he put it back into place. Despite how weary his chassis felt, he wasn't going to sleep. Wasn't going to lay down. No, there were things that had to be done first. Picking up the pieces of Bayou's armor, he headed towards the mech's quarters. His spark still felt like it was crying. Wanting it's other half and the closer he got, the stronger he felt the pull.

Bayou was too lost in misery to notice the pull of his spark. Did the slagmaker have it out for him or something? First his capture, then the deal, and now this. Every time he got comfortable with the situation something else had to happen. Bayou had half the urge to crush his spark there and now, just to end this cycle of cursed fate.

Pausing at the door, Stranglehold debated what to do. Sighing, he walked in to set the armor parts on the bed. Trying to ignore how his own spark cried out for Bayou's since it was rejected the first time. "Bayou... I'm sorry..." It wasn't much, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. Clutching his own spark, he turned and walked out. Ignoring the cry of his own spark and even Bayou's as he was so close.

Bayou's spark flared wildly the moment Stranglehold walked into the room, and Bayou gasped in pain as he tried to reject the call of the seeker's spark. "You promised," he sobbed. "You promised and you broke it!" His voice rose to a shout as he whirled to face the seeker. "How could you do that?"

Stopping, Stranglehold's wings twitched as he heard Bayou. Reluctantly, he turned around so he could face Bayou. A frown visible on his visage. "I know I promised... I'm sorry... I..." He sighed heavily. "Bayou... leave. I broke our deal. Leave." There wasn't much more he could actually say.

"I can't leave now!" Bayou snapped angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Stranglehold. "You spark bonded with me! That can't be undone!" Dark rage clouded over the blue mech's face. "How can I live the rest of my life now that this has happened?"

Glancing back, Stranglehold's wings twitched. "Ya can still live yer life as ya used to and ya said it yerself, I hurt ya. Doing that breaks our deal." Turning, he headed out of Bayou's room. Ignoring his spark's protests.

With a cry or rage and anguish, Bayou grabbed the nearest item - his own chestplate - and hurled it at the door which had closed behind to seeker. "You ruined my life!" he screamed. "How can I go back to something that doesn't exist for me any more?" Collapsing into a heap, Bayou cried and cried until finally, exhaustion claimed him and he fell into an uneasy recharge.


	8. Chapter 8

Darkened panes held a very light hue as he listened to one of his guards give him the reports from the past week. Stranglehold held very little interest in them, but he listened anyway. He rarely spoke to Bayou since he bonded with the blue mech. Not wanting to bother him or anything in general. They were hardly on good terms anymore. Bayou was given another room so neither of their sparks would have to be close. Waving a hand, he dismissed the guard. "Enough... I'm tired, go." With the guard going, he turned his head to look down at the barren cushions next to his throne. Sighing heavily, he let his optics shut off completely. Wondering if Bayou was off doing his job of dealing with the energon or whatever he cared to do. There wasn't any limits to where he could go now. Stranglehold just didn't care now. Nothing mattered since he hurt the one mech he was feeling something for. Now... like before, he just kept himself to his throne room when it wasn't his bedroom. Lounging around and listening to his spark cry for Bayou.

Bayou avoided Stranglehold like the rust-plague ever since they had bonded. A few days after the incident, he'd been assigned a new bedroom on the other side of the estate, far away from the seeker. The blue mech had forced himself to keep true to his responsibilities, seeing to the energon rationing and the needs of the people. He didn't wander hallways, despite his freedom to go where ever he wished; he kept mainly to the energon storage and his own room, although occasionally, he would have to go to a guard station on business. Whenever anyone saw him, they would later comment on how ill he appeared. He'd let his armor go unkempt, so the once vivid blue paint had become faded and dull. His optics looked devoid of life, and whenever he spoke, his voice was a flat rasp. Bayou wasn't consuming energon on a healthy basis either. He never felt hunger, only the silent screams of his spark, yearning for it's mate. To ignore the ache of a half-completed soul, Bayou often worked himself into exhaustion, and more often than not, fell asleep at his desk in the storage room. It was a miserable existence, but he did it for the people.

Turning, Stranglehold nearly fell off of his throne. Dull optics brightened in surprise. Growling at himself, he let it fade away. Moving around, he got up at last. Instead of calling for an energon cube, he headed towards the storage himself. Unlike Bayou, his own armor was kept up, but it was only for the appearance. He still snapped, a little more than usual, at his guards. While Bayou felt miserable, he had the opposite. Ages of keeping up a calm look was breaking down. He silently headed towards the storage units . Wings pinned back against his back. Pushing the doors aside when he got there. Not looking around or paying attention to anything. He just kept listening to his crying spark. Living with it's normal pain plus it's constant cry for it's other half. About the only thing he paid heed to was if it started acting differently, which alerted him to Bayou's spark

Bayou was among the shelves of energon that were farther back. He was sitting in a heap on the floor, asleep after having worked for three cycles straight without rest or fuel. Even when he slept, his spark called for Stranglehold, an as soon as the seeker entered the storage room, it's cries sharpened, tugging on the invisible link desperately. Exhausted as he was, Bayou didn't awaken.

As he was reaching out for a cube, Stranglehold could feel the tug. His own spark crying for it's other half. He clutched his chest and shivered. This was the closest they have been for cycles. "He hates me... Don't ya understand? He doesn't want me..." There wasn't any use in arguing with his spark as it was how he got into this situation. Groaning in defeat, he left the cubes behind to follow the calls from Bayou's spark. Moving past the stacks and shelves, he came around to spot Bayou. His spark crying out in joy that it was so close to it's other half. Feeling the tug, so strong as it was, Stranglehold couldn't fight it. He went closer to kneel down beside Bayou. Gently stroking his mate's cheek. Listening to his spark calling to Bayou's.

Bayou's sleep became restless, his doorwings twitching rapidly the closer Stranglehold got. His spark was reacting violently, calling out in anguish to Stranglehold's, needing the hurting to stop. Feeling a touch on his face, and the pain in his chest, Bayou's optics flickered to life, then flared as they landed on Stranglehold. With a choked cry, he wrenched himself away, spark screaming in protest as it was forced further away from it's mate. "Why are you here?" he gasped, clutching his chest in pain. He tried to move away from Stranglehold, but his feet were listening to his spark now, and moved him closer instead.

"Energon at first... then I heard your spark crying. Bayou... it's been a deca-cycle [three weeks] since we've even seen each other.." Stranglehold listened to his spark and his own need. He moved closer so he could put his arms around Bayou. Listening to his sparks cry die down, but it still wanted it's mate, it's other half, it wanted to be whole. "Ya can hate me for what I did... but we can't go on like this. We're both going to die if this keeps up. Ya look like slag.. and I can... feel it... yer so weak... We have to let the bond finish... I hate seeing ya like this... It hurts me to see ya so weak and so filthy. There is a gorgeous mech in there. I saw him.. Let him come back. Please..."

Bayou's processor was spinning, his body acting according to his spark's wishes. The blue mech flung himself at Stranglehold, chest pressed against his desperately as their lips met. His mind screamed at him, but his spark was urging it on. Kissing fiercely, Bayou felt tears running down his face and finally managed to part their lips, sobbing. "You did this to me!" he cried. "I hate you! Everything hurts; I can't eat, I can't sleep I can only listen as this wretched THING inside my chest cries for you. I hate you... I hate you..." Face buried against Stranglehold's neck, Bayou cried, clinging to his mate in desperate anguish. He was going to die if this went on any longer.

Stranglehold kissed his mate passionately in return. His own spark didn't need to push him. He craved to kiss Bayou again. Wanting to have his mate back in his arms. Craving to feel everything, but until now, he forced himself to stay distant, to stay denied. Once their kiss broke, he just listened to Bayou yell and cry. He just held his mate and let him yell and cry. "I know ya hate me... I deserve it, but I can't let ya suffer anymore. Ya need me to make the cries stop... and I need you. Bayou... I need you. I need to have you with me again. It's torture being away from you. I'd rather have my wings torn off and go through the pain of having my spark casing torn into than be away from you. This isn't just my spark... this is me... I miss you... I need you. I... I-I love you, Bayou.." For the first time ever, a single tear slid down the mech's cheek. Never in his life did he cry until now. It hurt him that much.

Bayou listened through his sobs, the ache of his spark dulling now that he was close to his mate. He stiffened when he heard the last bit, and he couldn't stop himself from saying, "You don't know how to love. You said it yourself." Primus, did it really come out as cruelly as it had sounded to him? "How am I supposed to love you? I trusted you and look what you did to me! Wasn't my virginity and the rest of my life good enough for you? How could you break your promise to me like that?"

Oh, it was cruel. It was true Stranglehold didn't know what it was, but he knew he was feeling something other than just simple attraction. He had been learning to actually care for someone other than himself. He thought he was doing good, but it only wound up coming out wrong as he hurt Bayou, deeply, with his actions. The twin wings pinned painfully against his back as another tear slid down his cheek to land on Bayou's arm. For once... he remained silent. His head lowered to hide his optics. Darkening them so they were nothing but a faint light, like the smoldering ashes of a fire. Even his grip was loose. As happy as his spark was, it felt the cold and pain from it's home. It started to cry in turn. Aching as Stranglehold ached.

Bayou was hurting bad. And now he could feel Stranglehold's pain through the partially formed bond. The agony drove him down onto his knees and he wailed, clutching his chest. "Why Stranglehold?" he cried. "Why do you have to love me? I don't deserve it; I'm not strong like you! I'm not rich, or powerful, and I can't even ignore my own hurting, let alone yours! I want to hate you but I can't. I want to love you but it hurts when I think about you. Why couldn't you have just taken my body and let me love you in secret?"

Darkened panes brightened slightly hearing Bayou. Bayou loved him? Him! A tyrant who didn't know the meaning of love. Someone who didn't give a slag about anyone else. The very same who made a deal to get someone to pleasure? As he thought, he just couldn't understand himself. He loved Bayou and he didn't care that he was a peasant or that he couldn't handle pain, he just loved him. Going down to his own knees, Stranglehold pulled Bayou close. His chassis moving without his thought to lean him against the wall. Bayou held tightly and close in his arms. Without thinking about it, he started speaking in the other language that Bayou had fallen into a trance with. Even if he needed a translation, it was on the top of his mind and in his spark, which was: "I love you. I don't care about if you're poor, inexperienced, stubborn, or you look like a pile of rust. I love you. I love you and I don't want to be without you. Bayou... be mine. Be my other half."

Bayou was too weak to move, the pain in his spark taking the last of his energy. He leaned into Stranglehold's embrace, tears falling in silence. Shutting his optics, he listened to Stranglehold speak, the second language soothing him better than a coolant patch. He didn't need a translation; Stranglehold's spark relayed the meaning to him. "I love you," he whispered brokenly pressing his face against Stranglehold's neck. "My mate... I love you..." More tears fell, and he weakly clutched the seeker. "Make the hurt stop... please Strangle..."

Even in his own state, Stranglehold held his mate tightly to him. Listening to Bayou and listening to their sparks. Hearing their cries to be together. "I'll make the hurt stop, but you need to be strong just a little longer." He knew he couldn't let their bond finish out in the open. There were already murmurs among the guards and he didn't need another reason to further their murmurs. His chassis ached, but he reluctantly parted from Bayou so he could get to his knees. From there, he stood up and pulled his mate back up into his arms. Softly kissing his head. "I know your tired... just try to move with me..."

Bayou hardly had the strength to get to his feet, but somehow, he managed to get up with Stranglehold's help. As drained as he was, he realized how close he was to dying. Not only had he put up a wall of rejection during their bonding, but he'd starved himself for three weeks now, as well and worked himself to the point of collapsing. If anything, his spark needed to be fully bonded, and quickly, else wise he wouldn't last for much longer.

"Just a little longer, my mate." Stranglehold kissed the top of Bayou's helmet before lifting his mate up into his arms. Feeling his own tired body resent the weight. He then headed right to their quarters as quickly as he could. Tuning his audios in only to listen to his spark and Bayou's. Softly speaking in the ancient language to sooth his soon-to-be full mate. He ignored the guards and shot them glares if they tried to bother him. Behind his scarred spark casing, his spark kept calling to Bayou's. It was the stronger one after all.

Bayou didn't protest as he was carried. His spark would weakly answer to Stranglehold's calls, straining for the moment when they would be properly united. Bayou was fighting the call of unconsciousness. He was scared that if he went offline now, he would never online again.

Once Stranglehold was at his room, he snapped at the guard to open the door. The scared guard quickly did as he was told. The door opened and was shut the moment Stranglehold was inside. Now that they were safe, the worried mech looked down to his mate. "Bayou, stay awake..." Even he was worried about Bayou claiming sleep. Moving to the bed, he gently set his mate down onto the bed. Stroking his cheek. "Just a little longer. Stay awake just a little longer then we can finally rest in peace."

Bayou laughed weakly. "I don't think those are the words you want to use," he chuckled, optics looking up at the seeker with dim light. "Please Strangle... I can't stand this any longer. Be my bondmate?"

Stranglehold cracked a slight grin. It was good that there was a sense of humor between them. Moving onto the bed beside Bayou, he removed his own chestplate before removing Bayou's own. He then pulled Bayou on top of him. Kissing his mate as he spoke in the ancient language. Nodding to the question. "I love you. Be mine." Kissing Bayou, he moved his hand to remove the cover from his spark casing before doing the same to Bayou. Instantly he groaned feeling his spark reaching out for the other one. Despite the surge of pain again, Stranglehold ignored it to wrap his arms around Bayou so their sparks were as close as possible.

Letting himself be pulled on top of his lover, Bayou watched with dull optics as Stranglehold exposed their sparks. Weakly, yet eagerly, he kissed back, pressing himself chest to chest with his mate as their sparks came together. It was painful, but nothing compared to the agony of having been away from his mate with an incomplete bond for several weeks. Groaning, Bayou trembled and willingly opened himself to the bonding process, letting the wall that rejection had put up, melt away.

Now that their bond was fully open, Stranglehold didn't let anything be hidden from his new mate. He let everything go through. All his memories from the good to the bad, but more importantly how to speak the ancient language. Keeping his mate to him, he managed to move his head to claim Bayou's lips. Kissing him passionately and needy. Not wanting anything to disrupt their bonding.

The same way that he soaked in everything his mate had to offer, Bayou gave Stranglehold everything he could, hiding nothing. he shared everything, from his time in the Academy, to his life of struggle on the streets. Kissing back with a bit more strength, Bayou groaned against Stranglehold's lips, his entire chassis quivering.

Stranglehold's own wings shivered as he saw everything his mate had gone through until they met. His fingers flexed as he held Bayou tightly to him before his head went back with him crying out his new mate's name. Once their memories were shared, their sparks finally merged as one. Flaring a brilliant white and green, sending a surge of unbridled pleasure through both of their chassi. It was enough to send even Stranglehold into a system overload.

Bayou screamed for Stranglehold as pleasure slammed into him, his body jerking in spasms of delight. Even with his codpiece on, he climaxed, systems red-lining as overload struck. Oh Primus, so that's what it felt like! It felt like every circuit in his body had exploded with white hot energy. Falling limp against him Bayou, Bayou cycled air rapidly, coolant coating his armor as smoke curled from between armor gaps.

Red panes were dark the moment Stranglehold hit a climax and his overload. It was Bayou's scream that came with his that made him force tired optics to open, to look up. He was panting to cool his own systems. There was no pain anymore as his spark, his arms, held Bayou in a tight embrace. He tried to get a word out, but his own voice was in static. Giving up on it, he dragged what little energy he had to kiss his mate before dropping his head down. Shutting down his optics as his chassis craved sleep. What energy was left, was just gone, but it was worth it.

Bayou could barely register anything. He was so tired, but no longer was it the exhaustion of bordering on death. Within seconds, he'd slipped offline into the first peaceful recharge he could ever remember having. He didn't bother to move off of his mate, and their chests remained pressed together, sparks back in their proper cases and singing softly to each other in joy and peace.

Stranglehold faintly smiled as he listened to their sparks. It wasn't long after until he too slipped off into recharge. Feeling so warm, so loved, and so happy. He had a mate and nothing would change that, Which to him meant protecting Bayou. No matter the cost.


	9. Chapter 9

When Bayou woke, his first thought was that he didn't want to move from that spot. Optics flickering to life, he looked down at the mech beneath him and smiled. None other than his mate, Stranglehold, and he wasn't going to change that for the world. Carefully, he nuzzled the seeker. "Wake up, my love," he murmured, kissing him gently.

Twin red panes slowly brightened at the nuzzle. Stranglehold's mind slowly registered what was going on. Once he saw Bayou though, his arms moved to tightly hug his mate. Yes... -his- mate. "Mmm. I could get used to waking up with you." That never before seen smile formed as he softly kissed Bayou back. Murmuring "I love you" against his lips.

Bayou groaned against Stranglehold's lips, kissing back fervently. "Hnnn, I'm so hungry," he moaned, his system check telling him his tanks were dead empty. Carefully, he rolled off of the seeker and onto his side. He searched his subspace pockets, but didn't have any cubes of energon at hand.

Chuckling softly, Stranglehold kissed his mate before slowly getting up. His body yelled at him to lay down, but he shoved it aside. Unlike Bayou, he was used to running on little to nothing. Making his way to a cabinet in the wall, he slid the panel aside to reveal a pair of cubes. "Good... they are still here." Taking them from the cabinet, he shut it and returned to his mate's side. Handing them both to Bayou before he collapsed onto his back. Letting out a deep sigh as it felt so good to lay down again.

Bayou gratefully accepted the cube, sipping at it slowly to savor the energizing taste. Curling up against his mate, he gently touched Stranglehold's sparkcase with his free hand, carefully caressing the scarred surface. "You're mine now," he murmured softly. What he didn't realize what that he'd said it in the other language that Stranglehold used.

Stranglehold shifted slightly as he still wasn't so used to his spark casing being touched, even if it was his mate. The moment he heard Bayou speak in the ancient language made his head turn. Grinning as he kissed Bayou before whispering in the same language. "Yes, I am, and you're speaking the language, love."

Bayou blinked in confusion. He heard Stranglehold speaking the language, but he understood it now. It took him a minute to figure out why, and he grinned. "I guess I am," he replied, returning the kiss. Finishing his energon, he set the empty cube aside and moved to straddle his mate. "You didn't tell me why you chose me to love," he said, looking down at the seeker.

Chuckling, Stranglehold watched Bayou. His hands moving to rest on his mate's hips. Warm and vibrant red panes looked up with a soft grin. The question made it fade as he wasn't sure himself. "I do not really know. There was just something about you from the first moment I saw you. All scuffed up and stubborn. I never believed in things like fate or true love. Seems my spark had other ideas."

Looking down at himself, Bayou just couldn't see what Stranglehold saw in him. Actually, he looked worse now than he did before. His paint was chipped and faded, and his armor looked ready to crumble at a touch; he definitely needed new armor and a tune up. "Well... whatever the reason," he murmured, leaning down to kiss his mate softly. "I'm glad you chose me. I just hadn't known it yet."

Happily, Stranglehold kissed back. "I'm glad you accepted me." Grinning, he moved his hands to wrap around Bayou, trapping him in a hug. Kissing his mate again with a gentle nip to the upper lip.

Bayou didn't fight it. Kissing back with a purr of his engine, he returned the nip, smirking. Mischievously, he rocked his hips against Stranglehold's, trying to get a reaction.

Oh, it got a reaction. Stranglehold let a soft moan slip past his lips. "Not now Bayou... Neither of us should have the energy to go even once. Strange for me, heh, but I still feel tired.."

Bayou chuckled. He didn't have the energy either, but he'd wanted to test his mate's weak points. Kissing the seeker softly, he got off of him and curled up, pressed against his side. As soon as he put his head down, the blue mech was out again, deep in recharge as his systems worked on getting back into stability.


	10. Chapter 10

Being bonded had a noticeable effect on Stranglehold. He was much happier and he was less strict with his orders. For the time being, he was looking out from the main doors to the palace. Red optics scanning over the vast land before him. The outside was doing much better with Bayou's energon rationing. He grinned to himself as he took a breath. To him, it felt like things were just getting better and better.

Bayou sat at his desk in the storage room, working tirelessly. Stranglehold may have the time to relax all day, but he didn't. Lately, there had been problems with the rationing. One sector had suddenly had an outbreak of illnesses due to tainted energon. As soon as word got to Bayou, he'd conducted a quarantine sweep of all their energon. Everything was clean, and yet somehow, more and more people were getting sick with each distribution. That led Bayou to believe that this was the work of foul play. As he read the newest repost, frustration, anger and despair filled him, and he slammed his fist down onto his desk. "How could this be happening?" he snarled, several guards jumping in surprise at his outburst.

Even from his distance Stranglehold let out a startled yelp. He put a hand over his spark as it gave a cry of distress. "Bayou...?" Turning on his heel, he went right back into his palace. Quickly making his way to Bayou as he reached out over their bond. Trying to soothe him and tell him that he was coming.

Bayou didn't seem to be paying attention to his bond. In fact, he was snapping orders at the guards nearest to him. "Go get me the mechs responsible for distribution in Sector Beta Five C." When the guards exchanged glances nervously, he snarled. "NOW!" The guards rushed off to do as ordered. Best not disobey the commands of the mech who happened to be their master's mate.

The guards passed Stranglehold on the way. He didn't ask them as he would ask Bayou. Slipping into the storage, he made his way over to where Bayou was stressing out. The feeling only growing stronger as they got closer to one another. "Bayou, what has ya so stressed?" He put a hand on his mate's shoulder. Gently rubbing it to try and relax him.

Bayou stood over his desk, glaring down at the datapad that had him so upset. "Someone is deliberately making the people in one sector sick," he said softly, voice shaking. "And now there are fatalities. Three sparklings and a minibot just died of tainted energon 3 breams ago." Bayou's hands were clenched into shaking fists, and his doorwings trembled.

The news of a minibot dying wouldn't of made Stranglehold even flinch, but a sparkling, -three- of them just made him sick. He growled deeply as his own grip on Bayou's shoulder tightened. "Whoever did this is going to pay severely for these crimes. I will personally see to it." His optics narrowed as he didn't try to hide what would happen to the mechs or mechs involved.

Bayou glanced at his mate gratefully, but sent him the silent message that he wanted to deal with this personally. Stranglehold could have the scraps. The guards returned, flanking the three mechs in charge of the ailing sector. "Empty your subspace pockets of everything," Bayou said coldly. "Now." The mechs rushed to do so, throwing out anything and everything, and Bayou signaled for the guards to look through it for any trace of poisoning.

Nodding to his mate, Stranglehold lifted his gaze to the three mechs. Darkened red optics watching them with a predator's gaze. He glanced between the three, studying them each in turn. This was Bayou's job and these mechs were under his watch. Even if he held ranking above everything, Bayou had it. His mind mulling over things, but thinking and planning were not his strong suits, they were Bayou's.

The guards searched the three's belongings, but found nothing. Bayou was not convinced with only that. For the next hour, he interrogated the three mechs, not holding back on threats. By the time he was finished, it was official. These three were not the culprits. In fact, their names were falsely written on the records. They were nightshift guards, not energon distributers. Bayou scowled when he learned this. Whoever was doing this had planned it out long ago, and were evading detection. It wasn't like he could watch for them at next distribution. The storage room was hectic at that time, and for all he knew, the real distributors could be just as innocent as these three.

Watching his mate, Stranglehold's attention moved elsewhere. Thinking about the sixty mechs that he had up. It could of been any of them as it was easy to trade off shipments when heading out. "Hrm... Guards, leave us and tell the sixty mechs who tend to the shipments that we will be skipping one. Alert me if any of them act strange." He gave them a look and they nodded to him. Not wanting to endure his or Bayou's wrath. It was the closest thing he had to helping.

Simmering in frustrated rage, Bayou leaned his hands on his desk. Four casualties. Some might say it was just four people, but to him, it was four too many. Bayou was piling on so much stress from these developments that he was having trouble thinking reasonably and rationally. If he didn't find an outlet to calm down soon, he was going to end up making a lot of mistakes.

Moving back over to his mate, Stranglehold put his hands on Bayou's shoulders. Leaning over to kiss the top of his helmet. "Yer stressing yerself out again." Letting his cables slide from his wrist, they moved down Bayou's side before slipping into the armor gaps of his hips. Rubbing up against certain cables to send his mate's attention there instead of his stress.

Bayou shivered at his mate's touch, trying to ignore it and focus on the problem at hand. He failed miserably, and with a soft groan, he leaned back to press against his mate. "I don't know what to do, Strangle," he confessed. "I've never had to deal with this kind of stuff before."

"Then relax before ya send yerself into an overload from stressing out." Stranglehold continued to let his cables move to massage the others. His fingers sinking into shoulder gaps to stroke the wiring beneath Bayou's armor. "We will find who did this. Even if I myself must leave the palace to find the culprits."

Bayou shivered again, pressing himself into the touch. "You wouldn't really leave the palace, would you?" he asked, arching a brow ridge. He groaned as he felt Stranglehold's cables working around the circuits beneath his hip armor, and felt a stab of arousal. Hm... he wondered if there was a way to lock the storage room doors without moving away from the seeker...

"I have not stepped out of this palace since the day I was brought here. If it would help the outside, help those ya always seek to help, I would." Stranglehold grinned slightly down at his mate. His fingers retracted so he could move lower. Having his hands move as well before whispering in Bayou's audios. "Simply call a guard to make sure none come in. It's that simple. None around here wants to be around me when I want pleasure."

Shivering and groaning again, Bayou did as he was told, and was pleased when the guard shouted a confirmation back. "Mm, good," he purred, leaning all the way back against Stranglehold, grinding his aft against his mate's crotch invitingly. He sent Stranglehold a mental picture of him bent over the desk, crying out while the seeker pounded into him mercilessly. "How about it, love?"

Laughing, Stranglehold grinned and kissed the top of Bayou's head. "That looks good to me, love. Want me to just take it slow at first or just show you why your mine?" His cables retracted into his wrists as he pulled his fingers out of Bayou's shoulders. Moving his hands to remove his codpiece and drop it to the side.

Bayou's engine rumbled a purr. "Mm, I choose the second one," he replied. He was already removing his armor, exposing himself for his mate. "Show me that I'm only yours." Bayou's rod was already hard, pulsing with the need for pleasure.

Grinning in delight, Stranglehold moved to lean his mate over the table. Gripping Bayou's hips in his hands. Cables coming out to wrap around Bayou's own rod. "Yes, only mine. Slag, I love you, Bayou." Rumbling deep in his chest, he thrust himself completely into his mate with a single move. Leaning over into a good angle, he picked up his groove quickly. Thrusting himself hard and deep into his mate, just like he had wanted. His own rod already hardening as he thrust himself into Bayou. Showing just why that his mate was his.

Bayou cried out as he was penetrated, pleasure swamping him. "Oh Primus, yesss..!" he hissed as his mate began thrusting. He'd long since learned how to take rough pleasure, and he sought after it during their many rounds of sex. Groaning as Stranglehold moved within him, he spread himself a little wider, granting the seeker more access.

Being bond mates just heightened their sense of pleasure too as Stranglehold began to learn just what he could do through their bond. Rumbling deep in his throat, he slid his fingers into Bayou's armor gaps. Stroking the cables there in turn with the cables around his mate's rod which kept stroking. "Mmm. I'm glad you suggested this idea. It's fun." Grinning, he hitched his hips when Bayou opened himself up further. Shifting himself, he continued to thrust himself hard and fast. Hitching his hips to penetrate further with each thrust. Something new he liked to get Bayou's sweet spots.

Bayou whimpered and gasped with every thrust, trying to buck back to meet Stranglehold each time. pressing his full weight down on the desk, hands clenched into fists, his doorwings twitched and quivered. "A-Ahh! H-Harder Strangle..!" he begged, wanting his mate to hold back nothing. His rod was so painfully hard, and the stroking cables only made him harder.

"Mmm, since you begged." Stranglehold couldn't help but enjoy hearing his mate beg for him. It just made his own rod harder and make him hotter. With a slight adjustment, he let go of his own reigns to put all of his power into his movements. Thrusting himself harder into Bayou with a groan. The cables around his mate's rod tightening in reaction. Growling deeply, he kept no restraints on himself as he put everything he had into his thrusts. Giving Bayou everything he had.

Bayou almost screamed in absolute bliss. His chassis jerked with each thrust, his port tightening around Stranglehold pleasurably. He bucked lustily against the cables around his own rod, gasping for air between passionate cries. The first time Stranglehold had gotten this rough with him, several chords within him had snapped, requiring several days of bed rest. But now, now it was just hot bliss.

The very day that had happened, Stranglehold made sure that the times he got rough were far and between so he wouldn't wind up tearing up Bayou's insides again, but nothing was held back when they did this. Just like now he held nothing back as he thrust. Moans of his own escaping at the cables tightening around his own rod. Clutching Bayou's hips, he could feel his spark pulsing within his chest as it sang. It was that song that always triggered him. His hips bucked as he pushed himself deep within his mate before he came to his own climax. Moaning out Bayou's name as he came, filling his mate to the very brink.

Bayou screamed his beloved's name as he climaxed in unison. While Stranglehold's energy spilled within him, his own spilled out over his thighs, the desk and the floor. He didn't care about the mess however; he was too busy feeling his spark sing in response to Stranglehold's. Shaking, he cycled air rapidly, groaning in delight at the feeling of his mate's load within him.

Bucking once to make sure that he was finished, Stranglehold pulled himself from Bayou. Leaning over, he kissed the back of Bayou's neck. Kissing it up to his helmet. "Mmm... Our sparks are singing." He ran his hands along his mate's sides. The cables retracting into his wrists again.

Panting slightly, trying to calm his chassis, Bayou moaned and his engine purred. "They are, aren't they?" he whispered, reaching to take hold of one of Stranglehold's hands. "Mmm.. I love you Strangle," he murmured.

"I love you, Bayou." Stranglehold kissed Bayou's nape again. His own fingers tightening around Bayou's hand when he felt them. Slipping an arm around his mate's waist, he grinned with an idea. Moving back, he sat down onto the chair. Pulling Bayou back down onto his rod so he could sit too. "Mmm. You feel so good.."

When Stranglehold had pulled out briefly, Bayou could feel his mate's warm energy seep free from his port. Pulled down to sit, he gasped and squirmed as he was penetrated again, pleasure rolling over him. He was getting hard again already. "Nnn! Y-You feel better," he groaned, pressing himself down further onto Stranglehold's rod with a whimper.

Wrapping his arms around Bayou's waist, he helped bush his mate down further. Bucking up with a low groan so he was buried deep. "I love burying myself in you, Bayou." He kissed the back of his mate's neck. One arm remaining around the blue mech's waist as the other moved to stroke his rod. Moving his thumb to roll over the top. His cables slid from his wrist so one would slide around the base of the rod. The other teasing the tip. "Mm... I wonder what other things I could do to please you."

Bayou hissed in pleasure. Oh Primus, it hadn't taken Stranglehold long to get the blue mech addicted to sex. Bucking into the seeker's hand, Bayou whimpered as he was teased. "A-Anything you want, love," he moaned, craving more attention.

Stranglehold grinned as he kissed the back of Bayou's neck again. "No wonder I love you, my mate." He nuzzled his mate's neck. Moving the cable around Bayou's crown before he let the tip slip down into the rod. Sliding a little further in as he let it move slightly around to see what kind of reaction it would get.

Bayou's optics widened and he nearly screamed. Fragging Primus, that hurt! And yet, he bucked up against the probing cable, taking it deeper into the opening of his rod. Despite the pain it inflicted, Bayou found himself wanting more of it. There had to be something wrong with him if he was enjoying this kind of thing.

"Mmm. Who knew ya enjoyed that." Stranglehold nipped at his mate's audios. His hand kept stroking Bayou's rod as the cable went down further with every stroke until it the edge was as the very beginning of the rod. The tip moved slightly to test as the cable itself almost seemed to grow and contract within Bayou's rod. His hand continued to stroke even with what was happening. "I wonder what else you enjoy, my mate."

The blue mech cried out as the cable fed itself further into his rod. Whimpering, unable to answer his mate, he bucked desperately. It hurt so much, but wanted more. "A-Ahhhh!" Primus, something was definitely wrong with him.

"Nothing is wrong with you, my mate. All of our race have... kinks, as it's called. It seems this is one of yours." Stranglehold continued his stroking and let his cable do as it pleased. The other tightened around the base of Bayou's rod before releasing. It was strange, but he wanted to see. The other cable moved to try and push it's own way inside to join the first. Wanting to see if it caused pain or if Bayou enjoyed it. Though he was curious to something else. Moving his free hand, he stroked Bayou's cheek. The cables slipping from his wrist to slip into Bayou's mouth to rub against his tongue. Everything was a test to see what was good and what was bad.

Bayou's optics flared, his rod feeling like it was burning. Oh it hurt, it hurt! But the blue mech didn't try to call it off; he too wanted to see if this could pleasure him, and first times were always expected to be unpleasant. He stifled a scream as the second cable forced it's way into his aching rod, and barely registered that more cables were now filling his mouth. Instinctively, he moaned and began sucking on the cables in his mouth, treating them in the same manner that he would Stranglehold's rod. So this was what being penetrated at every possible hole meant.

"You are a very interesting mech, Bayou." Stranglehold kissed the back of his mate's neck. Letting his cables move slightly in Bayou's rod as he continued to stroke. The cables in Bayou's mouth moved further. Rubbing along the tongue. One remained to play while the other moved further to see what else could be done. Still, their owner simply nuzzled and kissed. Amazed with his mate.

Bayou couldn't answer, nor did he think he would be able to think up an answer. Bucking against the invading cables, his rod pulsed, trying to release his energy, yet only small spurts were able to escape, running down his burning length. He submitted himself to whatever Stranglehold did, his tongue trying to battle with the cables in his mouth.

Stranglehold nuzzled the back of Bayou's neck before moving both his hands to his mate's hips. "Mmm. I love you." He kissed the back of Bayou's neck before he called the cables back. Both sets. The ones in his mouth retreated before the first cable in Bayou's rod left. Then the second soon followed after. Grinning, the held back release was helped with a buck the moment the cable was gone. Stranglehold's hands holding Bayou down so he couldn't move when he bucked.

A scream of agonized pleasure tore itself free from Bayou the moment his mouth was unoccupied. His climax spilled from him violently, causing his entire chassis to spasm and quake. Bayou had hit system overload. Coolant beading his armor, he slumped back against Stranglehold's chest, quivering as his intake valves worked in overdrive.

Holding his mate to him, Stranglehold softly kissed Bayou. Their sparks singing to one another again. His words were soft and spoken in the language they now shared. "Mmm... I love you. You surprise me at every turn." Closing his optics, he kept his tone light, but he almost seemed to start to sing. Softly nuzzling Bayou with tender kissed to help him come down from the overload. To himself, he filed this into his own mind. He just found a new way to really please his mate.

Panting and trembling, Bayou craned his head to try and look at his mate. "Y-You're sure that wasn't something... wrong to enjoy?" he asked, nervous and embarrassed. He'd never heard of a kink like that before. Oh but to him, it had felt so good. To someone else, he was sure it would have looked like some alien horror movie.

Softly kissing his mate's cheek, Stranglehold nuzzled to soothe him. "There's nothing wrong with that. I'm the one who did it, so it's something I enjoy doing. I love hearing you cry in pleasure. I know I'm doing good, so there is nothing wrong with liking that, my love." Kissing Bayou's audios, he rumbled softly. Murmuring that doing this wouldn't be a daily thing, but they would do it again. Something special.

Bayou submitted himself to Stranglehold's affections, welcoming the soft kisses and gentle nuzzling. Being held in his mate's arms made his troubles always seem so far away. And to think he'd nearly killed himself by rejecting him. "You're too good to me," he purred to the seeker.

"I love you. You deserve the best." Stranglehold let his head rest on his mate's shoulders. Holding him close. Red panes darkened to smoldering ashes. A light smile on his visage. "I'm so glad that your mine, my love. I doubt I would of ever been this happy if you never came into my life."

Bayou smiled softly and leaned into his mate's embrace. "The same for you, my love," he murmured, turning his head to gently kiss his beloved's cheek. Sighing, the blue mech looked at the desk in from of them and noted with a mixture of amusement and irritation, that their pleasurable escapade had broken several datapads. Most likely from when Bayou had been pressed down on top of them.

Letting his optics brighten, Stranglehold took note of the datapads. "Oops?" He grinned like he always did at the sight. Nuzzling Bayou's head, he nudged it to point his own head down. They... made more of a mess than a few broken datapads.

Bayou looked at the mess and groaned. Hopefully it would be easy to clean up. He didn't want to leave the cleaning to the hired hands. The bedroom and his workplace were entirely different things. "I always get so messy when I'm with you," he accused Stranglehold playfully.

Stranglehold put on a mock hurt expression. His head dropping on Bayou's shoulder. "Guess I could stop coming to play with you at work." He couldn't keep up the charade for long before he had to laugh and nuzzle his mate.

"Liar," Bayou laughed. "You wouldn't be able to keep away for half a bream!" To make his point, he ground himself down against this mate, taking the rod within him even further before pulling away with a knowing smirk.

A groan of delight slipped past his lips. "Now your just cheating." Stranglehold caught Bayou before he could pull away. Wrapping his arms around his mate. Kissing the back of his neck. "Your an addiction I love. How could I stay away?"

"You cheat, so I cheat," Bayou said bluntly. Stranglehold had done the same thing to him many times before. Engine purring, he leaned into his mate's arms.

Laughing, Stranglehold nuzzled his mate. "I suppose I should let you get back to work. That or call for a clean up. There's no hiding what we did when you scream upon climaxing, my love."

"I can still hide the mess," Bayou said stubbornly, flushing with embarrassment. It wasn't his fault he was so vocal. Stranglehold just drove him insane with pleasure, how could he not let the emotions show? He wouldn't be surprised if the whole place heard him every time they made love.

"There's no hiding this mess." Stranglehold rumbled and kissed Bayou's cheek. "I don't care if we're heard. You are my most vocal lover. I love hearing you scream. The guards know I love having fun."

Bayou wasn't as blunt and desensitized as Stranglehold when it came to things like sex. He blushed brighter as he looked at their mess. There certainly wouldn't be any way of hiding this. "What we do is just for us," Bayou mumbled in embarrassment. "They don't need to know every time we make love... it's just for us... not them."

"I know love." Moving a hand, Stranglehold stroked his mate's cheek. Kissing the other one. "I'll see if we can get something soundproof for our room." Stranglehold grinned and kissed Bayou's cheek again. "Would that make you happy?"

Bayou thought for a moment before stubbornly saying, "No." Managing to half turn on the seeker's lap, he pulled him into a fierce, hungry kiss. "You shagging me into the bedsheets while I scream my love for you... that would make me happy." Nipping at Stranglehold's lips, Bayou smirked. "That, or having you kiss me senseless would work too."

Well that was a surprise, but Stranglehold couldn't help but laugh and kiss his mate back. "Oh, I think I can do all." Rumbling, he got an idea. Picking up his mate as he got up, he pinned Bayou down on the table. He grinned down as he pressed his chest against Bayou. Capturing his mate's lips in a passionate kiss.

Bayou yelped in surprise as his back suddenly met the desk surface, and felt more datapads breaking. He was about to protest when his mouth was covered, and all he could do was moan. Hungrily, he kissed back, hand clutching Stranglehold's shoulders tightly. His spark was flaring wildly as their chests pressed together, sensing it's mate so close by.

Rumbling deep in his chest, Stranglehold was thankful his vents could act for the air intake, but hey, Bayou did ask for this. He held his mate's sides as he kissed Bayou with a passion. His spark too could sense it's mate and started to sing to it.

It was interesting how sparks could sing without making a sound. And no one but Bayou and Stranglehold could hear it. Heatedly, Bayou twined his tongue with the seeker's, feeling as if he was being devoured by his love. Primus, this mech knew how to kiss. Sometimes it felt good enough to bring him to release.

Not everything had a true reason and Stranglehold wasn't questioning. It was a silent song between the two of them, between their sparks. Rumbling into their kiss, he shifted slightly so he could press his own rod against Bayou's. His tongue happily playing with the other. Rubbing against it and teasing.

Bayou arched his body and groaned. Their tongues mock-battled, and he tasted the flavor of his beloved, strong and sharp, but with a hidden sweetness. Much like Stranglehold's personality, he thought with a mental laugh. He was hard again, and he almost cursed himself for being insatiable.

Parting from their kiss, reluctantly, Stranglehold looked down at his mate with a grin. His hips moved to rub his rod against Bayou's own again. "We'll have to call in for a cleaning... but first..." He grinned deviously before sweeping Bayou in his arm. Turning around to plant him down in the chair. Claiming his lips before he could protest or say something. Murmuring against the lips, he broke their kiss so he could kneel. Grinning back up with raised optic ridges.

Bayou gasped and trembled, his doorwings producing a tapping sound against the desk as they twitched. The blue mech yelped again as once more, Stranglehold repositioned him. Blue optics flared as he watched his mate hungrily, anticipating his next move. "Nn... please," he hissed wantingly.

"I love you." Stranglehold kept grinning even as he moved. Eagerly licking his treat before he took the crown in. Rumbling around it as he sucked on it. Moving his head lower to take more of his treat in. Loving the taste and wanting more, which he got when he finally took in everything. His throat cables contracting around his treat.

Bayou whimpered loudly and his hands rested on Stranglehold's helm. He bucked up into the delicious heat of the seeker's mouth, groaning in pleasure at the sensations he received. "Ohhh, Primus!" he whimpered, his voice rising an octave. "Ohhh, St-Strangle... yesss..!" He'd already been dangerously aroused before this, and he was sure to climax quickly if Stranglehold kept this up.

Inwardly grinning, Stranglehold licked the underside of Bayou's rod. Gently sucking to get his cables to contract around his treat. Rumbling softly while his hands moved to his mate's hips. Gently kneading the wiring to help coax him into his climax.

The sounds that escaped Bayou were almost musical. Keening whines, whimpers and cries all blended together into a harmony made of pleasure. "So close...!" he gasped breathily. "A little m-more Strangle.. little more...!" His fingers twitched against the seeker's helm and he bucked again.

Pulling his head back just enough, his tongue moved to pry the tip of Bayou's rod like the cables did before he went back down to take the full length of the rod in. Sucking and licking. His fingers kneading as he rumbled around the rod to help Bayou reach his climax. Wanting it to come so he could finally have that delicious taste.

Bayou gave in. Crying out, he bucked up hard into his mate, holding his helm tightly as his load spilled into the seeker. "A-Ahhhh! Strangle...!" He called out his mate's name happily, rod pulsing as his energy escaped him.

A muffled groan came from Stranglehold as Bayou bucked his hips. He then eagerly and happily accepted what his mate gave him. Making sure that he swallowed every drop of that warm and deliciously sweet energy. His tongue licked the bottom of Bayou's rod to help coax out the very last of the energy. Pulling his head back, he lapped up the very last of the energy. Playfully sucking on the tip before he grinned up at Bayou. Licking his lips again. "Mmm. Sweet goodness."

Panting heavily, Bayou looked down at his mate, lust and love in his optics. "And only for you," he moaned, pulling the seeker up to capture his lips. He could taste himself, fresh on his mate's mouth, and groaned again. "You taste better," he complained slightly.

Chuckling, Stranglehold kissed his mate back. "So you say. To me, you are the sweetest and the most delicious." Grinning, he leaned in to capture Bayou's lips. Deepening their kiss for a moment before pulling back. Ah, how he loved to tease and how he knew his mate hated it.

"Nn... you're mean," Bayou whimpered as Stranglehold teased him. He was about to pull Stranglehold close for more when a loud knock made itself known. The guard called out that there was someone here to see them. Bayou jumped in surprise, and immediately cast a glance over the desk and floor. There was no way to hide the mess.

Unlike Bayou, Stranglehold was still calm. He glanced over his shoulder to the door before his mate. Pulling a cloth from subspace, he cleaned up Bayou's chest and thighs. Kissing his mate with a murmur. "Relax. Most guards know when I want something, I get it. Blame it on me, my mate." He kissed his mate again. His cables grabbing Bayou's armor to hand it to him. Moving away, he grabbed his own to return it.

Relax was the last thing he could do. Stress rushed back at him until he was just as tense as before Stranglehold had distracted him. Quickly replacing his armor, he looked in dismayed the mess before them. "But what about this?" he asked. Not to mention that the scent of sex was heavy in the air around them.

"My fault." Stranglehold kissed his mate. Looking into those cool blue hues. "Just blame it all on me, my mate. No one would accuse you at fault. I'll take the blame, so relax."

"It takes two to make love," Bayou retorted bitterly. He wasn't going to pin it all on his mate. He'd been the one to encourage all the things they did anyway; especially the part with the desk. The guards knocked again and called out, and Bayou shouted at him to wait for a moment.

Stranglehold lifted up Bayou's chin. "Who will they believe?" An optic ridge raised up. It was true. The guards were more prone to believe their master, knowing him, than think it was Bayou. "Ease up and go see who it is. I'll handle your desk."

Bayou gave his mate the stubborn look that said he'd made up his mind, but left to go see who it was. Opening the door, he looked at the guard sternly. "Well, show them i - " His sentence was cut off and twin shrieks filled the air and Bayou suddenly found himself on his back, two smaller forms having tackled him to the ground.

"Bayou! We thought you was dead and killed!" It was a young femme and an even younger mech, neither of them having reached the age of maturity. "We saw them nasty guards steal you, we did!" They looked at Bayou's face of shock and the way his mouth gaped open and shut, then looked around the room. Their optics widened as they saw shelves and shelves of energon.

They had yet to notice Stranglehold.


	11. Chapter 11

It wasn't a surprise as Stranglehold was currently hidden behind the desk. The twin shrieks made him almost jump, but he did whack the back of his helmet on the table. Grumbling and groaning, he rubbed it as he came out from behind the desk. "Urg... Bayou, what was that sound?" Red panes brightened as he looked in the direction of his mate. His hand stopping before dropping at the sight of two sparklings on his mate. For one of the few times, he was speechless. Not sure what to make of the two with his mate.

Bayou stared at the two. Lugnut and Spitbolt... two of the young ones he used to give his own hard earned energon to."Wh-What are you two doing here?" he stammered.

The young femme was the one doing all the talking. "We came to see the king-mech. We didn't know you was gonna be here." Both sparklings snapped their heads up when they heard Stranglehold, and hurriedly scrambled off of Bayou, bowing to the seeker, if not stiffly. They knew the air of wealth around a noble when they saw it. "Are you the king-mech?" the young femme asked nervously.

Snapping out of his own daze, Stranglehold grinned and nodded his head. "I am the king-mech." He didn't bother to correct them. Instead, he went along with the name. He then headed over to them to see what they wanted. If he was still bigger than Bayou, then he had the circumstance of towering over the two sparklings. "Is there something you two need?"

The sparklings trembled as the seeker towered over them, and the femme stammered a bit. She then turned to the little mech and began shoving him towards the door. "Go get him!" she hissed demandingly. The little mech didn't make a sound, but glared at her and went to do as commanded. Moments later, he was dragging another sparkling mech into the room by the arms.

This young one looked barely conscious, and very ill. He didn't look any older than the femme. "H-He's sick.." the little femme explained, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "Someone said it's the energon that made him like that, and he don't wake up. Can you fix him, King-mech... sir?"

Frowning at the sight of the sick sparkling, Stranglehold knelt down in front of the three. He then carefully picked up the sick sparkling in his arms. Running a finger down his cheek. If there were any lingering thoughts that he had a cold spark would be gone in the instant. His red hues softened as he looked to the two. "I'll see what I can do." Patting them on the head with his other hand, he looked up to the guards. "Go fetch the medic and be quick about it." With the guards nodding and running off, he shifted slightly to keep the ill sparkling safe in his arms. "Have ya two had any of the energon that he had, or any since he became sick?"

Bayou's optics were locked on the sick sparkling, and he couldn't seem to get his vocalizer to work. Getting back up to his feet, he moved towards Stranglehold and gently touched the young one's helm. He could practically hear his intake valves struggling to cycle cool air into his small, over heated body.

The little femme and her healthy companion looked relieved that the noble was going to help. They had been expecting a rude turn away. Spitbolt shook her head at the seeker's question. "We ain't been nowhere near the sick sector. That's where Treadbite lives. He done come over to play three days ago, but then falled down and didn't get up. He been sick like this since." Lugnut nodded in agreement.

"That's good to know." Stranglehold looked over to Bayou before his gaze returned to the two sparklings before him. His finger gently stroking the sick sparkling's cheek. Feeling the heat radiating from him. "Don't worry. My medic will find out what's wrong with your friend. Bayou here is also trying to find out why the sector is getting sick."

The two sparklings had moved to attach themselves to Bayou, one to each leg. Lugnut opened his mouth as if to say something, but all that came out was a systematic whirring sound. Spitbolt spoke up. "He said if you live here now? Are you Mr. King-mech's prisoner Bayou? Or maybe his bodyguard now? Do you get to see all the shiny rich things?"

Bayou looked down at the two, smiled and chuckled softly. "No, no, and no," he replied to them both. "But yes, I do live here now. Mr. King-mech here gave me some very special jobs. One of them is making sure everyone gets energon, and the other is to find out why everyone is getting sick." He picked the both of them up in his arms. "But I think my favorite job is making him happy."

Grinning, Stranglehold kisses Bayou on his forehead in front of the sparklings. "Which Bayou does well. He really makes me happy." He grinned down at the sparklings before his attention turned when his medic came in. "There ya are..."

The medic bowed. "I came as quick as I could. What is the problem, Master Stranglehold?"

"There's a sickness going around. Find out what is wrong. Starting with this sparkling." Stranglehold handed Treadbite to the medic, whom looked down at him.

"I'll try-ow!" The medic rubbed his helmet with a hand. "Yes Master Stranglehold. I'll do it."

Nodding, Stranglehold flexed his hand as the medic left with the sparkling. He then turned back to the trio behind him with a grin. "Sorry about that. He'll be sure to help your friend."

Bayou remembered the distrust Stranglehold held towards the medic, and he too made sure to give the medic a warning glare before he walked off with the sick sparkling. "Now," he turned his attention back to the two in his arms. "Do your parents know you're here?"

Both sparklings shook their heads. "They don't care," Spitbolt told him bluntly. "We go away for days and come back, and they don't say nothin'." It was the way things in the poorer areas worked. Most young ones over there were accidentally conceived, and parents usually felt no attachment to their children. They were too concerned with keeping themselves alive. Lugnut made another nod and opened his mouth to produce another whirring noise. Lugnut was a mute, so slight mechanical sounds were all he could produce. Spitbolt seemed to understand him perfectly fine though.

"Well then we very well can' send ya two back out there, now can we?" Stranglehold chuckled lightly. He reached out to rub Lugnut on the head. "Since yer friend is here for the time, so it shall be. Ya two are welcome to stay here as long as ya need. Seeing if Bayou doesn't mind. Ya two do know him."

Both young ones seemed to take a minute to let it sink in before their faces absolutely glowed. "We get to stay here?" Spitbolt asked excitedly. She'd always been the type to secretly dream of a life of grandeur. "Do we get to stay in a fancy room with lots of soft rich things?"

Bayou chuckled at the two, and set them down on the floor. "I have no problem with it. But first, you two need to get cleaned, I'm not letting you give the cleaners more work to do." When the sparklings made faces, he laughed. "No soft rich things for you if you can't keep them soft and clean. Now c'mon. I'm keeping an optic on you two to make sure you don't do a half-job." Looking back at Stranglehold, the blue mech smirked and stole a quick kiss when the sparklings weren't looking. "You too, Mr. King-mech," he said teasingly. "You've been very dirty as of late." He cast a swift glance at the desk and his smirk grew. "*Very* dirty."

Stranglehold grinned before he let out a laugh. Rubbing the back of his neck for a moment before teasingly whining. "Least I'm not the one who wanted to play." Chuckling again, he looked down to the two sparklings before kneeling down to them. Leaning in to whisper. "Ya two want to race Bayou? If we win, ya wanna help me lock Bayou in a room while we have fun with the soft and rich toys?"

The sparklings exchanged glances then nodded eagerly, the little femme speaking for them both. "Yeah!" Who knew a noble would know how to play fun games! Dashing to Bayou, they began pulling on his hands. "C'mon Bayou, c'mon!"

Bayou shot his mate a suspicious look. "What did you tell them?" he demanded as he was dragged out into the hall by a very hyper Spitbolt and Lugnut.

Stranglehold cast his mate an innocent look. "I told them we would play." Getting back up, he followed them out. He paused only to tell a guard that there was a mess to clean up. A sly grin slid before it returned to a playful one as he caught up with the trio. Chuckling to himself as he wasn't so oblivious to certain games, though the raceing he used to do... wasn't for fun.

Bayou arched a brow ridge, suspicions growing. "Your definition of 'play' has one too many meanings," he said before the sparkling demanded his attention again, asking for directions to the bathroom. When he told them, they suddenly dashed off, yelling something about racing him. Bayou immediately gave chase.

"Gonna beat you there Bayou!" Spitbolt yelled gleefully. Lugnut had transformed so that he could keep pace with his companion. He was small enough that he didn't have a problem maneuvering through the halls, whereas an adult wouldn't even be able to turn corners in vehicle mode.

Instead of running, Stranglehold took his time to let the sparklings and Bayou get ahead first. His mind mulling over everything that had currently been happening. Sighing to himself, he shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. Worry and wonder later. Right now it was time to have some fun... a different kind. "Wait up!" Finally, he picked up his pace and gave chase. Cheating a little by giving himself small boosts from his boosters so he could catch up.

As expected, the sparklings had gotten there first, their smaller, lighter forms making it easier for them to move faster. The stood at the washrack doorway, making faces at Bayou and Stranglehold. "Too slow, too slow!" Spitbolt chanted, grinning impishly.

Bayou hid a smile and gave a false pout. "That's not fair, you two had a head start," he said, when in truth he'd let them win. It was amusing to see how their spirits brightened whenever they claimed a small victory. Looking back at Stranglehold, Bayou could feel his pushed away worries through their bond and his optics met his in understanding. But they had to remain cheerful for the sparklings.

Looking to his mate, Stranglehold grinned and kissed his forehead before turning to the sparklings. "Looks like ya two won. Time to get cleaned up before we can do anything else and remember... it's our fun. Don't let it slip what we're going to do or it'll ruin the fun." Seeing the smiling faces did push his worries back, but they also made him think of the sick sparkling that was in the medic's care. Despite how it did bother him, it didn't show on his grinning face.

Bayou watched how his mate interacted with the sparklings, and a soft smile curved his lips. Again, he caught on to the seeker's thoughts, and gently took his hand, lacing their fingers together assuring. Treadbite would be fine... or at least he hoped so. "Alright, I don't know what sort of deal you three made, but now it's time to wash up. Spitbolt, I'm with you. Strangle, you take care of Lugnut. Make sure he gets all the dirt and grit out of his joints, and be careful around his throat." He would explain Lugnut's condition to his mate later. "Now come on missy. Get under that shower and start scrubbing."

Spitbolt made a sound of protest, but did as she was told. Bayou could be one slagging strict caretaker when he wanted to be. Lugnut, looked up at Stranglehold and made his little whirring noise. He was nervous of the seeker, but if Bayou trusted him, then he supposed he could too.

Tightening his grip around his mate's hand for a moment, Stranglehold released it to kneel down next to Lugnut. "I wont hurt ya. Even this King-mech knows how to be gentle." Gently picking up Lugnut, he headed into a stall, as it was split, and started to adjust the water's temperature. Glancing down to the sparkling, he lowered his head. "Don't tell anyone... but I'm actually afraid of Bayou. I'd be in big trouble if ya got hurt." To accent, he glanced worriedly at Bayou. If it helped calm Lugnut, then it was worth acting out of character.

Lugnut was young and mute, but he wasn't oblivious. He knew Stranglehold was trying to calm him down, and the manner of which he attempted it made him giggle; the sound was nothing more than a crackle of static. He'd also seen the way Bayou and Stranglehold looked at each other. As Stranglehold held him, he tapped on the seeker's chestplate, directly over his spark, pointed at Bayou then tapped Stranglehold's chestplate again. He was trying to ask if they were 'spark special', as young ones referred to bonding. His other hand, he'd lifted to his mouth and was sucking on his thumb.

Glancing down at the tap, Stranglehold followed Lugnut's hand before he nodded. One of his wings twitching. It took him a moment before it registered. "Yes, yes we are." He moved a hand to rub over his hidden spark. Looking to the water, he returned his hand to run under it.

"Ah, the temperature is good." Moving under the water himself, he let it run down his own chassis. He then started to carefully run a hand along one of Lugnut's arms. "I've never given another a cleaning... so ya'll have to point out what I should do."

Lugnut wasn't used to being clean, plain and simple. But he knew basics. Looking around, he saw a washcloth nearby and reached for it. Grabbing it, he tried to give an example by cleaning Stranglehold first. He rubbed the wash cloth against the seeker's shoulder and chest armor, indicating to start simple with armor first. Then pointed to his joints, showing that they needed to be scrubbed too. When he was satisfied that he'd given Stranglehold the right instructions, he offered the cloth to him expectantly.

Bayou had been watching Lugnut instruct his mate on what to do, and chuckled to himself. Being around sparklings would be a good experience for the seeker. Turning his attention back to Spitbolt, he caught her trying to rush and leave, and grabbed onto her with a sigh. "Oh no you don't," he said, taking a cloth and beginning to scrub at her armor and joints determinedly.

Watching Lugnut show him, Stranglehold nodded his head. Taking the cloth from the sparkling, he then began to slowly clean him off. A wing twitching when he noted he had cleaned a mech before, but never a sparkling. He took tender care in cleaning Lugnut's armor as it was more delicate than his own. When the armor was clean, he moved onto the joints. Taking extreme care around the young sparkling's neck like Bayou had told him. "How old are ya?" He was just curious and unsure on the age or knowledge of sparklings.

Whenever Stranglehold scrubbed at a joint, Lugnut would squirm and make that crackling static noise. He was ticklish. It was amazing how much grime his little body could contain, and the cloth was required to be rinsed out several times. Thinking on the answer to Stranglehold's question, he shrugged and held up six finger. Six decades perhaps? He wasn't too sure, himself.

"Hrm... I'm no good at keeping time. Bayou might know." Stranglehold kept rinsing out the cloth as he washed Lugnut. Grinning at the static noise he quickly learned was laughter. "For a little mech, ya sure are a dirty. How long has it been since ya last had a decent cleaning?" He didn't really expect an answer. It was more just his wondering.

Lugnut replied by shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. He didn't know either. They didn't have a functional washrack near where he lived. Not even a public one. More gritty filth continued to wash out from the little chassis until finally, the sparkling was cleaner than he had been all his life. Armor that had originally looked navy, was actually a smoky teal. Scuffs and scratches could be clearly seen now, but it was nothing some wax and a buffing couldn't get out.

"Now ya look a lot better now than ya did before." Grinning, Stranglehold finished off the last bits of grime before putting the cloth away. Shaking his own head as the water fell, he turned it to shut the water off. "All that's left is to dry and give yer chassis a good run down. Soon ya'll be looking like new. Then..." He lowered his head to whisper. "...we can mess with Bayou."

The little mech gave Stranglehold a smile that could only be described as utmost gratitude and happiness. Sticking his thumb back into his mouth, he then let Stranglehold do whatever he needed to do.

At the same time, Bayou was now drying Spitbolt off, being firm yet gentle. The little femme kept trying to escape, but the blue mech would drag her back with a scolding word and pick up where he'd left off. Spitbolt had at first appeared black, but her armor was actually a deep maroon color, and revealed to be more scuffed than Lugnut.

Heading out of the shower, Stranglehold grabbed a cloth to wrap it around Lugnut. Drying him off, he looked over to Bayou and Spitbolt. Chuckling at them. "Looks like I had it easy." Once the sparkling was dry, he dropped the wet towel onto Bayou's head.

Bayou glared daggers at Stranglehold and tossed the towel back into his face. "Lugnut never did like to cause problems," he grumbled, finally finishing with Spitbolt. He let the little femme dash off out of his reach, grumbling under his breath. He wasn't even going to attempt giving her a waxing; the effort wasn't worth it.

Laughing, Stranglehold pulled the towel off of his head. Setting it aside, he watched as Spitbolt run off. "Time for a nice wax." He scratched Lugnut's cheek before he headed over into another section of the showers.

Grinning, he set the sparkling mech down before calling over his shoulder. "I'm to guess then Spitbolt doesn't want to play. It'll just be Lugnut then. Grabbing a special cloth and a bottle, he began to carefully wax Lugnut.

"No no! I want to play!" came the cry, and soon Spitbolt had adhered herself to Stranglehold's back, arms around his shoulders. "No fair kicking me out! I wanna play the game!" Lugnut stood unmoving as Stranglehold set to work waxing him, sucking on his thumb as he watched scuff marks get worked out. He shivered as the wax was applied; it made his armor tingle and tickle.

Stranglehold laughed and glanced over his shoulder. "Alright, alright. Then come sit down and I'll work on yer armor next." Looking back to Lugnut, he continued to get the scratches and scuffs out. Thankful the bottle held a special fluid that got scuffs out and waxed at the same time. Just as he said, once he was done with Lugnut, he patted the sparkling on the head before turning his head back to make sure Spitbolt would be willing for her turn.

Lugnut looked his newly cleaned and polished up self in amazement. He didn't know who could look so... nice. Spitbolt all but scrambled for her turn. For the sake of the game, she would persevere!

Bayou had gotten up and was standing, watching the way Stranglehold handled the two young ones. A soft smile curved his lips. The seeker never ceased to amaze him; he'd even gotten the stubborn terror that was Spitbolt to cooperate.

Rubbing Spitbolt on the head, Stranglehold got right into giving her armor a clean and polish. "Good thing ya decided to come back. It wouldn't be any fun with only one of ya." He chuckled and inwardly mulled to himself. A little bribery and deals went a long way when something had to get done. Little tricks he learned over the years still worked. Spitbolt proved that even sparklings could be reigned in with a little play deal.

"And what is it exactly that you three plan to play?" Bayou asked suspiciously, watching his mate wax the little femme. He bent down to pick Lugnut up, looking pleased with how well cleaned the sparkling was.

"Mr. King-mech said we ain't suppose to tell you," Spitbolt replied, squirming under Stranglehold's attentions. The wax made her armor itch! It was harder to get her scuffs out, yet slowly and surely, they were being buffed out.

"Exactly. Yer not allowed to know Bayou, it's just between the sparklings and me." Stranglehold took care and kept his attention on getting the scuffs and scratches out. One of his optic ridges raised at Spitbolt's squirming. "Something wrong with the wax?"

"It itches!" Spitbolt complained. "My armor feels funny with that stuff. Like there's little turbo-rats running over it."

"That's what happens when you have more scuffs," Bayou told her. "That wax is working to get those scrapes out, so your armor is going to feel some tingling."

Stranglehold nodded his head as he listened to the two of them. "It will go away, trust us. Ya will look and feel better once everything is done." Grinning, he ran a thumb over Spitbolt's cheek to make sure there were no minor scratches he might of missed.

"Just hurry and finish it," Spitbolt whined. "I wanna get to the game!" Lugnut produced his static laugh. His friend had never been patience or very femmelike. She preferred crawling in debris piles rather than keeping her appearance shiny.

"Ya'll get to the game, don't worry." Rubbing Spitbolt on the head, Stranglehold made sure that everything was scuffed and waxed before setting the bottle and cloth aside. "There we go. Now yer all clean and now we can have our fun."

Spitbolt was relieved when it was finally over. "How do we play?" she asked eagerly. Lugnut squirmed until Bayou set him down, rushing over to Stranglehold and looking at him expectantly.

Looking between the two, a more devious grin slid to Stranglehold's visage. "First things first. Bayou, turn around and count. We're going to hide and ya have to come and find us." He kept it hidden that there was more to his game than he was revealing.

Bayou arched a brow ridge and sighed. "Fine," he muttered, doing what he'd been told. Turning his back to them, he began counting, sounding faintly amused.

Grinning wider, Stranglehold turned back to the sparklings. Motioning them to head out. Glancing back over his shoulder, he headed outside with them. Chuckling to himself as he let his hand hover over the keypad to the showers.

Suppressing giggles, the sparklings crept out of the doorway, craning to look around the seeker at the still counting Bayou.

"Shh." Tapping into the keypad, Stranglehold set a lock and timer into it. The door wouldn't open until the timer ran out. It was set for a short time, so the sparklings an himself could play. Chuckling, the door shut and hissed with a click. The timer activating the moment the door shut. "There we go. Bayou's locked in and now we can play."

The sparklings laughed with happy mischief and latched onto Stranglehold's hands. "What're gonna play?" They looked up at him with shining optics.

Bayou had finished counting and turned around. His optics locked onto the closed door and he growled. "STRANGLEHOLD!" he shouted, any amusement he felt no longer there. That no good, backstabbing seeker! The blue mech banged on the door. "Strangle, you let me out right now!"

Stranglehold half winced hearing the yell as he glanced to the door. "First thing first... time to run before Bayou gets out. This King-mech is going to be in a lot of trouble when the timer runs down." Grinning, he led the two sparklings away. Trying to think of what games they could play. Mentally thinking to himself, he started to guide the two into one of the rooms that were near his. From there he'd figure something out.

The sparklings took the hint without a protest, and followed after the seeker, leaving Bayou to shout and rant until the timer ran out. Lugnut was sucking on his thumb again, and his free hand took Stranglehold's left. Spitbolt took the right. This was going to be fun!


	12. Chapter 12

Trying to ignore Bayou's ranting and shouting, Stranglehold kept leading the two. "Ya two ever been swinging before?" He looked between them with a grin. Ignoring the confused looks from the guards when they passed by. It was a first for all of them to see their master with anyone other than Bayou lately. A few mingled to themselves about hearing Bayou shouting, but they didn't dare to ask. One though did stop to look at the lock and timer. Wondering when it had been installed.

The sparklings looked up at him, confused, exchanged glances and then looked back at Stranglehold. "No," Spitbolt said. "What's swinging?"

"I'll show ya. Just don't be worried about my cables." To show them, Stranglehold's cables emerged from his wrists. Moving his hands to hold onto their own. The cables wrapping around their waists so he wouldn't accidentally drop them. Standing himself up, he pulled them up too. Moving his arms front to back to swing them. His cables kept loose so they wouldn't be in the way.

Both sparklings made sounds of surprise. From Lugnut, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Now this was a game they'd never played before. At first, they were tense and nervous, but when Stranglehold didn't drop them, they slowly began to relax. After a few minutes, both sparkling were giggling happily.

Stranglehold kept low in case they wanted to go down. When both sparklings eased into it, he moved higher. Grinning and soon laughing with them. "See? I wont drop ya to or let ya come to harm." Chuckling, he made sure to keep them entertained as he made his way to the new room. Speaking his passcode, the door opened to allow them inside. The room itself was simple with a bed, sheets, pillows, and a few minor things. It was near his own room, so there were soft things in it. Heading to the bed, he swung Spitbolt and Lugnut up to let them land on the bed. His cables then retracted as he eased his grip on their hands. "Now... was that fun or what?" He grinned and chuckled. Having a lot of fun with these two. Almost forgetting that the timer for the washroom was almost up.

Landing on the bed with squeals of laughter, the sparklings looked up at Stranglehold smiling. Lugnut was the first to recover and notice the soft material beneath them. With a strained sound, from his throat, he stood up carefully, and bounced hesitantly. The pliable material did nothing but support the movement. With another sound of pleasure, he began jumping on the cushions, bouncing with surprised joy. Spitbolt quickly joined him, and soon the two were jumping on the bed wit unrestrained delight.

Inside the washroom, Bayou had stopped pounding on the door and yelling, and was now glaring at the timer, waiting for the last few minutes to pass. Just wait until he got his hands on that seeker of his...

Stranglehold wasn't worried about getting into trouble. It was all just a game and it made the sparklings happy. Though he figured that Bayou would be pretty ticked, but he shed the thought aside. "Just don't fall off or ya'll get hurt." Watching them bounce and play happily, he took a look around the room. Trying to think of what else there could be to entertain the sparklings. So far though, they were entertained. Chuckling, he set himself down in a chair next to a table. Leaning back into it, his twin red panes watched Spitbolt and Lugnut. Amazed at how seeing them happy made his spark feel warm.

After some time, both sparklings flopped down onto the cushions exhaustedly. As hyper as they could be, it wore out quickly. Lugnut crawled off the bed and approached Stranglehold, clambering up onto the seeker's lap. Making himself comfortable, thumb in his mouth, he quickly fell asleep. On the bed, Spitbolt was already in recharge.

Finally! The timer came to an end and Bayou hit the door command panel. Bolting out of the washroom, not caring about the startled guards, he looked around. Now... where were they?

"Amusing. So hyper and so tired." Chuckling softly, Stranglehold watched as Spitbolt passed out on the bed. His attention turned as he moved a hand to rest on Lugnut's side as he crawled and slipped to a slumber on his lap. He made sure that Lugnut was comfortable before he himself was. Leaning back, he shut his optics off. Listening to the soft rhythm of the spark beat of the sparkling on his lap. A tip of a smile coming to his visage as he eased himself into a light nap. Actually forgetting or a moment that Bayou would be free by now.

"Sir Bayou, are you looking for Master Stranglehold?" One of the guards spoke up seeing how Bayou was looking around.

Bayou growled. "Where?" was all he said, looking ready to give Stranglehold a piece of his processor.

The guard pointed down the hall. "Master Stranglehold was heading towards his room with two sparklings... The guards further down should know, sir."

Bayou sad nothing else and stalked down the hall in the direction he was pointed. He now listened to his spark, letting the pull of their bond guide. Entering the room, he was about to yell at the seeker, but any anger he felt died away at the sight that met him. The sight of Stranglehold sleeping with Lugnut curled up on his lap was... dare he say it? cute.

Flicking a wing, Stranglehold's head tilted to the side. His spark eagerly awakened him to the feel of it's other half. Tilting his head forward, the twin panes brightened to the sight of his mate. A sly grin sliding to his visage. His fingers flexed to remind him of the sleeping sparkling in his lap. "Hello again." Keeping his voice just at the right level so Bayou could hear, but also to let Lugnut remain in his slumber.

"I should be beating you to a miserable pulp right now," Bayou said in a soft voice. He moved forward and leaned down to brush his lips against the seeker's. "But for some reason, I just lost the mood to do that." Carefully, he picked Lugnut up off of Stranglehold's lap and carried him over to the bed, setting him down gently. The sparkling made a whirring noise, but didn't wake. "You'll want to get on here next to him," he told his mate. "Or else he'll be cranky at you if he wakes up and you're not with him." The bed was large enough to hold three grown mechs, and the blue mech carefully climbed onto the bed and readjusted Spitbolt so that she wouldn't fall off the edge, where she'd originally settled.

Grinning, Stranglehold got up to walk over to the bed. "You'll have to re-phrase what you just said." Leaning over on the bed, he gently stroked Lugnut's helmet. To reassure the sleeping sparkling that he was still nearby and wasn't going anywhere. His red panes lifted from the sleeping form to look up to his mate. "And it was just a game, my mate. I told them if they were good and took the wash that we'd lock ya in a room so we could have fun. Sorry I couldn't tell you love. It'd ruin their fun."

Bayou sighed with a grumble, saying something about being picked on. "Oh just get on the bed," he said, making room for his mate to climb in. "Whatever game you played, it wore them out. That's not an easy thing to do."

Chuckling, Stranglehold climbed onto the bed. Leaning over to kiss his mate. "I think jumping on the bed tired them out. That or it just helped from wherever they came from." He grinned and kissed Bayou again. Rumbling against his mate's lips before he settled down. Moving a hand around Lugnut to reassure him.

Bayou returned the kiss with a soft rumble of his engine. Both sparklings had subconsciously moved closer against the mechs to get comfortable, sleeping peacefully. Bayou smiled, seeing how Stranglehold reacted to Lugnut. "You would make a wonderful father, love," he told him, gently nuzzling his throat cables. "I've never seen these two trust someone so willingly like with you."

"Me, a father?" Stranglehold tilted his head before rumbling at the nuzzling. He glanced down to the two slumbering forms before looking back to his mate. "What makes ya think I'd be a good father and what do ya mean with trust? I'm not even trying to gain it.."

"You get along well with sparklings. And you obviously care for young ones." Bayou remembered how his mate had cradled the ill sparkling, and didn't think he'd ever forget the look on the seekers face. "I can't really explain it, Strangle. But something tells me if ever you were to be a parent, you would be absolutely wonderful at it." The blue mech smiled. "And maybe it's because you're not trying. Sometimes, sparklings know more than what's shown to them."

"I never got the chance to be a sparkling myself... My earliest memories are not fun." Flicking a wing, Stranglehold shook his head free of the memories. There wasn't a point on dwelling in the past. It happened so there was no need to remember it. "Hrm.. I doubt I'd be a parent anytime soon, my mate. Not unless caring for these two and their sick friend counts."

Bayou smiled gently and nuzzled his mate, kissing his helm. "Forget those memories," he told him, pouring love into Stranglehold through their bond. "Even if it's for a little while, these three can be our sparklings for now, and I say you're doing a wonderful job, my love."

Grinning, Stranglehold moved his head to capture Bayou's lips in a kiss. Almost purring against them, but his still sounded like a rumble. "This'll be new. First time I'd ever be caring for another, or three rather." Chuckling, he kissed Bayou again before he let his head set down. He wasn't exactly tired, but he figured his mate was. They did have a nice romp before the sparklings arrived.

Bayou laughed softly. "This isn't your first time," he corrected the seeker. "You cared for me when I needed you, right?" Settling down, he curled up close to his mate, head on his shoulder, while the sparkling were nestled comfortably between them.

Grinning to himself, a slight nod was given. "Good point, my mate. I did make sure ya were taken care of, but ya have been able to manage on yer own." Extending his wings, he let one of them branch out to rest on Bayou's back, covering the sparklings from view.

"But I don't think I would have been able to manage without you," Bayou chuckled. He distinctly remembered having to be fed mouth to mouth. Back then, he'd been furious and in despair. Right now, he thought of it as something fun to do again. Comfortable and safe, the blue mech rumbled softly at his mate, a hand gently petting Spitbolt's helm as she made a sound in her sleep.

Opening one red pane, Stranglehold glanced back to his mate before looking to the sleeping forms between them. "Mmm. How true and how stubborn you were." Chuckling, he shut his optics. Flexing a hand over Lugnut's side. Moving it to slightly pull him closer protectively. He didn't bother thinking on the action. It just happened.

Bayou noticed Stranglehold's action, but said nothing, a small, knowing smile on his lips. Stranglehold was already acting like a parent, and these weren't even his own offspring. Watching as a clicking sigh escaped the little sparkling, his smile grew as Lugnut moved closer to curl up in the crook of Stranglehold's arm. Dimming his optics, Bayou allowed himself to fall asleep as well.

Stranglehold didn't go to sleep just yet. He remained awake, even with his optics off, to make sure that none would disturb them. After a few minutes past, he mumbled something to himself before adjusting his own head. Allowing himself to return to a light nap. Feeling oddly happy with his mate and the sparklings.


	13. Chapter 13

Bayou didn't wake until early morning, for it had been evening by the time they had all fallen asleep in the extra room. Awake before any of the others, he silently slipped out of bed and snuck out of the room without waking the sparklings or Stranglehold. He wanted to go check up on Treadbite and see if the medic had been able to help him.

Stranglehold wasn't a heavy sleeper. One of his red panes brightened to see his mate leave the room. He didn't awaken further. Instead, he returned to his slumber. The sparklings were not awake after all.

The medic wasn't sleeping as he was up in his med bay, pacing back and forth. He kept glancing to a machine on the side and back to a table where Treadbite was resting. A machine was set up to the small sparkling to keep him stable. "Stranglehold will have my head if this doesn't work..." Stopping back at the machine, he pulled a vile from it. Too absorbed in his work and worry to notice the entrance.

Bayou stood in the doorway of the medbay for quite some time, optics narrowed at the medic as he watched him work. While Treadbite didn't look quite as bad as the day before, he still hadn't shown any signs of waking or movement.

"Finally... This should work or-gyah!" Turning around, the medic nearly jumped out of his armor seeing Bayou. He quickly grabbed the vile again before it could slip from his hands. "Ah-ah, Sir Bayou... Hello. I didn't expect to see you there.."

Bayou kept his face stern, optics narrowed on the medic. "I would hope you are working hard on curing this little one," he said firmly, a dangerous tone in his voice. The medic would only be wishing he would have faced Stranglehold if he failed to help Treadbite. "Has there been any progress?"

The medic gulped as he nodded his head. "I-I've been up all night working on the cure. I should have it by now. If-if not, I'm coming close. It would help if I had the poison. It-It gets diluted when it is introduced into a system." He headed over to where Treadbite was. Careful not to drop the vile in his hand. Picking up a needle on the table, he put the fluid from the vile into it. Glancing nervously at Bayou before returning to his work. Carefully, he injected the contents into an energon vein. Watching the fluid drain from the needle.

Bayou kept a careful optic on the mech, still not trusting him. "You couldn't run a diagnostic to try and scan for traces of the poison?" he asked. For the longest time, he watched the little sparkling lay still on the table, struggling to cling to life. Then, after what felt like an eternity, there was movement. A twitch of the fingers and wings, but it was movement none the less.

"Once it enters a system, it becomes diluted..." The medic grumbled before looking back to Treadbite. Waiting agonizingly patiently for any reaction out of the sparkling. He let out a sigh of relief at the small movements. "Thank Primus... It's a start.."

Bayou was at the sparkling's side in a nanoclick. "Diluted or not, I want you to do whatever you can to get a trace on that poison!" he said firmly. "Whatever it is, it's strong enough to kill those with smaller bodies." Treadbite twitched a little more, this time trying to lift his limb. He failed, but it was a sign of waking up. After a few minutes, his optics lit up dimly, and he produced a faint sob of fear, confusion and discomfort. Bayou wasted no time in reassuring him, gently stroking his helm. "I want you to make more of whatever was in that vial," Bayou commanded the medic. "And concentrate it so that it work better!" Treadbite had stopped moving, but he remain conscious, only slightly aware of his surroundings.

"I'll do what I can to make the antidote... and any small amount of poison can easily take a small life. It's harder to kill an adult than it is a sparkling." The medic went back to his machine to work on a second vile. "I can only make an antidote as long as I have the poison... and I didn't give him the full dose. He's a sparkling. It will take a few more doses to rid him of the poison. An antidote can kill just as easily as the poison."

Bayou growled. While he wasn't a medic and the other mech knew these things better than him, he didn't like the medic's condescending tone. "I don't care what the procedures are just do it!" He didn't want anyone else dying. Not when it could be prevented.

Treadbite looked around in a daze. Where was he? Who were these strange mechs? Why did he feel so horrible? Confused and scared, the sparkling let out a whimper, trying to curl up, but his limbs weren't obeying him. The most he could do was twitch his fingers and wings weakly. Another whimper and tears formed.

Getting the second vile, the medic put the second dosage in the needle. Walking over to Treadbite, he injected the second dose through the same vein. The whimpering didn't even phase him. It was sad, he worked more under fear than caring anymore. Not when he worked under two tyrants. "This should clear everything up.. I just need, at least, a cube of the poisoned energon... and he needs fresh energon. He'll be weak for awhile."

If Bayou ever figured out he was being thought of as a tyrant, he would probably lock himself up in his room never to come out again. Stress made him irritable. He didn't mean to snap at others. "How soon until you think he can move?" Bayou asked. "Will there be any permanent damage to him?" He gently stroked the sparkling's helm trying to calm him. He would see to the fresh energon personally.

The medic wasn't thinking of Bayou. He was thinking of the old tyrant and then Stranglehold. He just didn't really like Bayou, or anyone. Wiping the needle down, he glanced back to Bayou. "Hrm... It might be a few joors [hours] to an astrocycle [day]. As for the damage... Well, you can see for yourself." Putting the needle down, he went over to another machine. Typing a few things into it before a datapad was released. Taking it out, the medic headed to Bayou to hand it over.

Well, at least he would be getting better. Bayou took the datapad and looked it over. What he read shocked and dismayed him. First of all, the little mech's memory banks were completely shot, and had needed to be replaced, as well as several over processor functions, such as language. His self repair system was completely burned out and nothing could be done about it. Those two were the major things, but the list continued with smaller, easily repairable damages. Handing back the datapad to the medic, Bayou looked sadly down at the little mech, who stared up at him in fright. There was a lot of work to be done with this one. "Take good care of him," he told the medic. "Try to access his subspace pockets. He might have stored some of the poisoned energon."

Taking the datapad back, he set it down onto the table. The medic then walked away to try and get some work done. "I'll do what I can for him. He's going to have to re-learn everything." Glancing over his shoulder, he shook his head. "I'll give it a try, but even if there is a cube, there still wont be much. Best I can do is get a few doses from the poison."

"Wouldn't even a small sample be enough to find out the ingredients?" Bayou asked, still stroking the sparkling's helm. "That way it can be replicated and used for an antidote." Looking down at the helpless young one, he tried to smile reassuringly. Treadbite hardly reacted other that to attempt moving again.

"If it's unaltered." The medic grabbed another device to return to Treadbite's side. Letting it scan him as he typed a few key commands in. He glanced down to the fearful look then back to Bayou. "Smiling wont do much. As I said, he'll need to re-learn everything. Have fun being a father. You and Master Stranglehold will have to teach him everything."

"It can at least tell him that I don't mean harm," Bayou retorted. "If becoming this little one's father is what it takes... then so be it. I'll help him... Stranglehold and I both will." With that, he stepped away from the sparkling. "I'll go and get him some fresh energon. For you too, since you've been up all night."

The medic almost snickered at the thought of Stranglehold being a father. He set the device aside to grab something from seemingly thin air. Grabbing the only item from the subspace pocket, he pulled it out. Scowling at it as the cube held a slighter darker coloration then a normal cube. His attention was drawn over to Bayou. Raising an optic ridge. "Er... thanks."

Bayou left the medbay, heading for energon storage. When he got there, he was relieved to see that the mess he and his mate had made was cleaned, no evidence that anything of the sort had ever gone on. Grabbing several cubes, he subspaced some, and headed back to the medbay. As he entered, he offered one to the medic. "Take a little break," he instructed. "Don't want to overwork yourself." Then going over to the sparkling, he carefully helped Treadbite into a sitting position. Treadbite made a noise of fright, but gentle, calming words from Bayou eased him. He couldn't understand them, but it was the blue mech's soft tone he could at least understand. With Bayou's help, he slowly but surely was able to drink half the cube of energon before being layed back down. A little bit at a time. Feeding him too much at once after he'd just been roused from a poisoned stasis would be unwise.

"You'd be the first that gave a slag." Taking the fresh cube, the medic seated himself. His chassis instantly relaxing and easing up from it's stress. "Primus is feels good to just sit down..." He slowly sipped on his own cube, watching Bayou and Treadbite. Wondering just how this mech was the mate to the tyrant he worked under.

Bayou kept close to Treadbite, stroking the little one's helm and crooning assuringly to him. He kept his tone soft and gentle, knowing that even though words weren't remembered, emotion could still get through." Everyone seems to say that a lot more since I've been here," Bayou replied, watching Treadbite slip off into an easy, natural recharge. "You'd think everyone here has lost their ability to care about others."

"We all worked under a cruel tyrant. When Master Stranglehold took over... things didn't get much better." The medic continued to sip his energon. "Some of us never had it. Others... well... others learned that this wasn't a place for kindness."

"Stranglehold's not a tyrant," Bayou said firmly, immediately speaking up for his mate. "He may have... issues, but he's no tyrant. He knows how to care, he just has it hidden away, that's all."

"That mech has more issues than all the mechs working under him." The medic finished off his energon before crushing it. "I remember the first day I saw him. Bright optics, thinking he found a good life... Next time I saw him he was fearful. Then it was hatred. Considering what the former tyrant did... I'm not surprised he didn't turn out just like the former tyrant."

The medic had been here before Stranglehold's arrival? Bayou stared at the mech strangly for quite a while. "He would never," he said softly. "Even if he'd tried, I won't let him." He wouldn't let anything or anyone so horrible touch his mate ever again. He loved the seeker too much to let that happen.

Getting up from the chair, the medic didn't even seem to notice the look. His mind was back to processing what poisons could turn energon dark. "Don't be too surprised if you see Stranglehold snap for no reason. He's not as stable as he looks. Not with what he went through." Going over to the poisoned cube, he started to get to work. He'd seen more things than he should and he knew more about what happened to Stranglehold than he himself did. After all, he knew the tyrant while he had fun tormenting Stranglehold.

Bayou didn't reply. Sure, they had shared memories during the bonding, but that didn't mean he really knew a lot about his mate. And the realization of that hurt. The uncaring medic knew more than he did. Getting up, he merely said, "Call me if you get anything or if something happens." And left, heading back for the bedroom.

The medic merely mumbled something incoherent before he returned to work. He simply kept himself working on the antidote for the poison.


	14. Chapter 14

Returning to the bedroom, Bayou saw that the healthy sparklings were awake and doing something to the napping Stranglehold. "What are you two Unmaker's doing?" he asked, making them jump in surprise.

Lugnut and Spitbolt squeaked and whirled around to face Bayou. "Um... nothing?" Spitbolt said with a nervous smile. It didn't look like nothing. In fact, what they had done was taken out washable paints and drawn all over the seeker's face.

Feeling his mate's presence again, Stranglehold yawned and opened his optics. Raising an optic ridge at them and their colored fingers. "Hrm..?" Shifting around on the bed, Stranglehold propped himself up on his elbows to look down at the two curiously before looking up to his mate. Not really concerned about himself at the moment. "How's Treadbite doing?"

Trying his hardest to remain serious, Bayou couldn't stop the corners of his lips from twitching as he looked at his mate's face. "He's... ~snort~ ... doing better. ~another snort~ The medic found an antidote."

Lugnut and Spitbolt were giggling uncontrollably. They had painted all sorts of things on Stranglehold, ranging from smiley faces to stars and ribbons.

"That's good..." Stranglehold tilted his head in confusion. Moving to sit up, he looked between them. "What's so funny? What are ya three laughing at?"

Static giggles consuming him, Lugnut detached his now clean and shiny chestplate and held it up to Stranglehold so that the seeker could see his reflection. More giggles ensued.

Looking down at his reflection, Stranglehold just stared at his reflection for a few moments before grinning. "Looks like ya have fun while I was sleeping." Moving a hand, he ran a few fingers over the still wet paint. He chuckled before planting a dot of it on Lugnut's nose.

Distracted by reattaching his chest plate, Lugnut didn't notice what Stranglehold was doing until he had the paint placed on him. Squealing in surprise, he tried to wipe it off and avoid dirtying his armor. Spitbolt laughed at him. "Hee! Scared to get your armor dirty again?" she taunted.

Stranglehold chuckled before he picked Lugnut up. Holding him on the nook of an arm, he used his thumb to clear off the dot of paint. "Guess ya don't like being dirty, Lugnut?" He grinned affectionately down at the sparkling mech before reaching over to rub Spitbolt on the head.

Lugnut shook his head, sucking on his thumb. "Ya gotta get dirty some time!" Spitbolt said almost viciously taking a dab of paint and smearing over the younger sparkling's armor. Lugnut made a shrill sound of distress and began crying, lashing out at the older sparkling. Spitbolt retaliated by smacking him on the head before getting pulled away and scolded by Bayou. Lugnut cried with loud shrill screeching noises that sounded like tearing metal.

Stranglehold scowled at Spitbolt before wincing at the cry. His attention quickly returned to Lugnut as he tried to soothe the sparkling. "Hey, it's okay. It's just paint." He lowered his head and pulled Lugnut up to kiss the top of his forehead where he was smacked. Nuzzling him softly to help soothe him. He picked up part of the sheet below him to get the still wet paint off of Lugnut's armor. "Easy, easy. The paint is coming off. Don't cry. Don't cry."

Lugnut showed no signs of calming down until the paint was completely removed. His cries quieted, but tears continued to fall dejectedly. With slight hiccupping sort of sounds, he began sucking on his thumb again, leaning into the seeker's hold, holding onto him tightly. Spitbolt scowled at the younger sparkling and at Bayou's harsh commands, grumbled, "I'm sorry," then added, "Crybaby." That got Lugnut crying all over again, which resulted in the little femme getting put into time-out.

Stranglehold sighed and shook his head. He tried again to calm Lugnut down. Gently stroking his cheek and kissing his forehead. "Don't mind her. She just wont get to play the next time we have fun. Hey... ya want to go and take another shower? I need to get rid of this paint and ya can play in the water. What do ya say?"

Cries of distress falling silent to be replaced by the hiccupping noise again, Lugnut nodded. Wrapping his arms as far around Stranglehold's neck as they would go, he rested his head on the seeker's shoulder. Stray tears falling, he rubbed at his optics with a fist.

"There, there." Stranglehold gently patted Lugnut's back. Rumbling softly to further soothe him. Making sure that Lugnut wouldn't fall off, he slid himself off of the bed. Walking around it, he paused beside his mate. "I'll be in my shower with Lugnut if ya need me, my love." Patting the young sparkling, he headed out of the room to head to his personal quarters. The shower there was more suited for what he wanted to do.

Bayou didn't remove his stern gaze from the pouting little femme, but nodded to Stranglehold. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be having a talk with the little missy here."

Lugnut clung to Stranglehold, silent but obviously still upset. Wide blue optics looked around at the passing splendor of Bayou's and Stranglehold's room, but he made not indication of wanting to look around. He just waited for Stranglehold to do whatever it was he wanted to do.

"Relax. She's just being mean because she thinks it's fun." Reaching the showers, he shut the door behind him. Stepping into the shower itself, he pressed a button aside on the wall as sides rose up to give it a more bath-like appeal. The shower head disappeared to gave way to another nozzle. Turning on the water, Stranglehold sat down in the new tub as the water started to fill. "See? Now we get to relax and get clean. Even play."

Optics going wide, the sparkling clung tight to Stranglehold, watching the shower transform. He'd never seen anything like this before. Putting his hands under the flowing water, he slowly began relaxing. The tub rim came up to about his chin! Either he was small, or the tub was big. Lugnut looked at Stranglehold expectantly, wonder how one can play in a tub.

"See? Just water." Stranglehold let Lugnut sit on his leg so he wouldn't go under by accident. Grinning, he flicked a hand with the water so it would come up and splash his chest. He didn't want to go too high. It wouldn't be good to terrify the young sparkling. Not after he got teased.

He should have been used to getting teased and picked on, it happened so often. But Lugnut was a sensitive little thing and could get upset easily. Surprised as water splashed on him, the sparkling stared before splashing back. A small smile formed and he splashed Stranglehold again.

Laughing, he splashed Lugnut. Stranglehold was happy that the sparkling was finally having fun. Grinning, he folded his wings in to slid down under the water. Washing off his face of the paint, causing the water to turn colors from the paint. Coming back up, he spit out a stream of water that he accidentally took in.

Lugnut made a sound and looked as the water changed colors. He was alarmed when Stranglehold went under the water, and clung to him tightly when he came back up, seeming like he was checking him over to make sure he was alright. He opened his mouth to ask, but all that resulted was that whirring noise, and Lugnut became frustrated with his inability to talk.

Looking back, Stranglehold stroked Lugnut's cheek. "Relax. I'm okay. I just needed to wash my face off, that's all." He grinned reassuringly before sitting up. Keeping the young sparkling close to relax him. "Hrm... Ya always have the speech problem, Lugnut?"

Lugnut relaxed when Stranglehold assured him, but kept close either way. Hearing the question, he shook his head, then tilted it back and pointed to his throat. It was faint, but in the right light, a scar could be seen running across the sparklings throat cables. Trying to find a way to explain, he took Stranglehold's arm and fiddled around with the armor until he found the compartment that hid a blade. All mechs had it naturally built in. Sliding the blade out, he pointed at it, then to his throat until the message became clear. His vocalizer had been slashed.

Watching Lugnut, he tilted his head. A slight scowl on his face when he saw the mark. His attention turned as the armor on his arm was moved. Red panes blinking in surprise as he never knew that existed in his armor. It never even registered. His scowl turned into a slight growl once he understood what had happened. Concentrating, the blade returned back into his wrist where it would stay. "The fraggard... Looks like someone didn't want ya talking." He gently ran a finger over the scar before pulling his hand back. "There is no end to how cruel a mech can be..."

Lugnut shrugged. He'd seen something he shouldn't have, and aside from getting killed, this was how he was kept from talking. There was not much he could do about it now; the damage was irreparable, and although he'd nearly died of the energon loss, at least he was alive today. That was something, right? Sure, being mute had it's problems, but he was getting along fine.

"Hrm... It's in the past. Yer here now and that's the important thing." Using a boot, Stranglehold shut the water off. He then eased back into the water. Letting Lugnut sit on his chest. "Want to get out and go check on Bayou and the little pain?"

Sitting on the seeker's cockpit, Lugnut played with the water silently, trying to create waves here, making a whirlpool there. Looking at Stranglehold, he nodded. He'd calmed down enough and had gotten to have a little fun in the tub. That was good enough for him.

Grinning, Stranglehold used his cables to hit another button. The water started to drain out of the bath first before the sides finally went down. Setting Lugnut down beside him, he sat himself up before getting up. Flicking his wings to rid himself of the water. Stepping out, he grabbed the towel on the side so he could pick Lugnut back up and dry him off first.

Lugnut waited patiently and made a happy noise as he was picked up and wrapped in the towel. Taking a hold of the sides of Stranglehold's face, he kissed the seeker's nose and hugged him tightly. Letting the older mech dry him, he once more started to suck on his thumb.

Grinning at the kiss, Stranglehold kissed the top of Lugnut's head. He then headed over to the bed as he dried off Lugnut. Once the young sparkling was dry, he set him down on the bed so he could clean off his own chassis. Paying special attention to his face to make sure the paint was gone. "Good thing the paint washes off."

Lugnut patiently waited for Stranglehold to finish washing, wrapped in the towel and sucking his thumb. His blue eyes followed the seeker's every movement, not daring to let him out of his sights. The sparkling had taken a great liking to Stranglehold.

"Much better. Clean and dry." Stranglehold shook his head to make sure any droplets caught in the nooks on his helmet were gone. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he looked back to Lugnut. Grinning down at him. "Now, lets go see that little nuisance Bayou has to tend to." Picking up Lugnut, he held him in the nook of his arm before letting the sparkling choose where he was most comfortable.

Lugnut was perfectly fine with the way Stranglehold held him now, and leaned into the hold. Head resting on the seeker's shoulder, he silently sucked on his thumb and let the older mech carry him back to the room.

Rubbing Lugnut's cheek, Stranglehold headed out of the room. Grinning down at the sparkling. "Looks like Bayou was right. Maybe I would make a good father. Ya and I do seem to get along. I can't say much for Spitbolt. To think I was called a tyrant." He chuckled, amused at his own thoughts.

Lugnut listened to the seeker, and as he heard the word 'father', he cast Stranglehold a sharp glance. Like most sparklings on the outside, he'd been abandoned and forced to keep himself alive. To him, the word 'father' was something like a taboo. Something that there was no right for him or the others to have.

Stopping at the sight of the look, Stranglehold let his gaze return to Lugnut. "I'm just talking to myself. Blame Bayou for my thoughts. He's the one who mentioned the idea."

Lugnut shook his head and went back to how he'd been before, leaning into Stranglehold's arms. Stranglehold was nice. Better than nice, he was wonderfully kind and caring. Was that how fathers were suppose to be? Lugnut wished he only knew.

Stranglehold himself could only guess. Bayou was the one who was really showing him and allowing him to be more kind than he ever had before. Rumbling softly, he picked up his pace again to get into the room where he left Bayou and the little tyrant.


	15. Chapter 15

Bayou had retreated to the bed and was sitting there with a datapad in hand. Spitbolt was still in the corner, doing her best to ignore everyone and everything during her punishment, arms crossed over her chest. Looking up at the two, Bayou smiled. "Well I see you two are nice and clean again."

"That we are." Stranglehold headed over to the bed to sit down next to his mate. Grinning, he leaned over to kiss Bayou's neck. "We had fun too in the bath."

"Oh did you now?" Bayou rumbled with a smile, tilting his head for Stranglehold's kiss. "Well then Lugnut must have had a very good time playing!" He smiled as the sparkling nodded.

Setting the datapad aside, Bayou got up and took a hold of Stranglehold's arm. "I need to talk with Stranglehold, ok? You two stay in here and behave." That said, he dragged the seeker out.

Stranglehold was surprised as he was dragged out. Glad he set Lugnut down after he kissed his mate. His optics flickered in surprise and curiosity. Once outside, he moved off to the side with his mate. "Something wrong, my mate?"

The facade smile he'd put on for the little ones slipped, and Bayou quickly buried his face against his mate's shoulder. "It's Treadbite," he said softly. "He'll live but... Stranglehold, I know you think you're not parent material, and I you might not want to, but that little one needs us."

He looked up at his beloved sorrowfully. "He's damaged Strangle... really damaged."

Blinking in surprise, Stranglehold wrapped his arms around his mate to hold him close. Kissing the top of Bayou's helmet. Rumbling softly to try and soothe his mate. "How... No... My mate, we'll take care of him. I couldn't just send him away."

In his mind, he knew he couldn't send Lugnut away either. He was... growing attached to the little sparkling.

"It's more than taking care of him, Strangle," Bayou said, holding on to his mate tightly. "We'll need to teach him... everything. That poison attacked his CPU. Burned out his memory banks and wiped his language processor absolutely clean. And his self repair systems are shot too. If he gets hurt, he won't be able to fix himself."

"I've never done anything like this before..." Stranglehold put his head down on top of his mate's. Wondering if he could really take care and teach a sparkling. "I'm not sure if I could do something like this, Bayou..."

Bayou wasn't sure either. He didn't want to doubt his mate, but there was no denying that Stranglehold had... issues.

"I'm sorry love," he murmured woundedly. "But if not us... then who? I'm sure you can do it. Just look at you and Lugnut! He adores you, and it's only been a day!"

"Lugnut... is different. He already knows how to do things. Treadbite on the other hand.. he has to be taught everything." Stranglehold's wings pinned down against his back as he glanced away. He didn't really know if he had it in him to be a father. Teaching wasn't his thing at all.

For some reason, Stranglehold's words upset the blue mech. "Everyone is different, Strangle!" he said. "Do you think this is Treadbite's fault? You think he would have wanted this to happen to him? For Primus sake, Stranglehold, take half a nanoclick to go and see him. Take one look and you'll see just how frightened that poor sparkling is!"

Bayou's voice was slowly rising in volume. "You're scared of a little responsibility, when the little guy can't understand a word that's being said to him, or where he is, or why he can barely do more than move his fingers right now."

There was a hurt look in Bayou's optics as he looked at his mate. "What if that were Lugnut right now? Or me? Would you be so eager to make excuses if it were one of us?"

Stranglehold shut his optics as he tried not to listen to Bayou. "Stop... Just stop..." His voice was barely above a whisper. As Bayou's tone rose, his own did as he kept mumbling "Stop" at a higher and higher octane before his optics finally opened so he could glare at his mate.

"Bayou, stop it!" He growled and pushed his mate away. An angered and hurt look in his own optics. The deep pain he kept buried throughout the years finally rose back up. "I'm terrified of going to look at Treadbite! Are you happy now? I'm down right terrified of the responsibility for caring for another. Especially when it hits so close to my own spark."

Clutching his chest, Stranglehold cringed in pain. It felt like a dagger was digging into his spark. Panting, he leaned back against the wall. The spike of those memories and Bayou's words just tore into him.

Bayou looked like he'd been slapped across the face as Stranglehold shouted and pushed him away. Again he was reminded of how little he knew about his mate. He near doubled over when Stranglehold's spark pain transferred through their bond. "No... no, I'm not happy," he said weakly.

"I'm never happy when you're in pain. But Strangle... please..." he tried to approach his mate again.

"Please... you can't run away. Don't run away from me... and certainly not from the little ones. I know you have it in you to be a wonderful, caring mech. I wouldn't be here as your mate if I thought that you couldn't." He opened his spark to their bond, letting Stranglehold's fears and pains flow into him, and pushing nothing but love and assurance back.

Stranglehold kept his part of the bond shut tightly. He panted heavily as the pain kept biting into his spark. Gnawing on what little grasp of rationality he had left. "You don't know my past..." He didn't want to, but he moved to keep away from Bayou. His chassis reacting without his thought.

"Just stop... Bayou... just stop trying... There are reasons why I never speak of the past. Reasons and things I don't want to suffer through again.. It hurts too much to have to remember. I was never supposed to be caring... I was supposed to be a cruel tyrant. Caring for none other than myself... You can't understand the pain of being tortured and nearly starved to become cruel..."

Oh Primus it hurt to be shut out of their bond like that. His spark screamed for it's other half, not wanting to be ignored. Tears sprang to Bayou's optics. "No... I don't understand," he said softly, voice shaking.

"I never will, because you won't ever trust me enough to let me in." If that was the case, then maybe they were never meant to be mates.

There came a sound from the doorway, and Bayou whirled around to see the two sparkling watching them from a crack in the doorway. They'd been listening.

Optics going wide as they were discovered, the sparklings quickly ducked back into the room and hastily shut the door. Fleeing back to the bed, they stayed there. Spitbolt looked upset, but Lugnut... he looked absolutely spark-broken. He'd been hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could stay here with Bayou and Stranglehold, but that hope was now shattered. Stranglehold wouldn't let him.

Opening his optics slightly, Stranglehold looked back to his mate. The panes were darkened as most of his energy was in trying to keep his chassis cool. It still hurt, but the pain was slowly subsiding. He slightly frowned listening to his mate.

"Something like my past isn't easy to let anyone know... Just having the medic know is hard enough..." His words paused for a moment when his mate moved. Shifting his weight so he could turn, twin red panes watched as the two sparklings ducked back inside. It took a moment to register that they heard what had just happened. "They heard us..."

He panted before forcing himself to stand up normally again. The barrier he put up against Bayou's spark was starting to crack with his realization that he wasn't the only one in pain.

Bayou couldn't answer. What was there to say when he was just going to be shoved away with each attempt? Going back inside the room, he slowly approached the sparkling and gathered them into his arms. "Let's get you two home," he said softly. They would only suffer more if they had to deal with the two arguing adults.

Spitbolt asked if it was their fault Bayou and Stranglehold were fighting, and the blue mech shook his head, kissing their helms. "No, of course not," he assured them. "Grown ups just have problems sometimes. It's not your fault at all."

Carrying them out, he headed for the palace exit.

Lugnut craned his head to look at Stranglehold as they passed the seeker, his blue optics sad and hurt. He wanted to stay here with the two mechs, but Stranglehold didn't want him. Tears welling up, he began to cry, the screeching wail tearing past his damaged throat.

Watching his mate go inside the room, Stranglehold slid down along the wall to the floor. For the first time in a long time... he felt broken. Not his chassis, but his mind and spark. He didn't even bother to hold his spark again. His chassis felt weak and he felt weak. Something that terrified him even more than being hurt. Everything he did was to keep himself safe and all it took to break down his walls was a simple sparkling. His head tilted back to hit the wall.

Red panes glancing to the side when he saw Bayou walk out of the room. They took a moment to register that Lugnut was looking at him. "Lug... nut..." He frowned when that cry reached his audios. Tearing right into his mind and his spark. The walls he put up instantly shattering.

Lugnut was suddenly kicking, hitting and flailing, and soon Bayou was forced to put him down before the sparkling accidentally hurt himself. The sparkling immediately dashed, running to throw himself at Stranglehold and cling to him tightly, crying loudly as the tears refused to stop. He didn't want to leave.

Anguish on his face, Bayou set Spitbolt down where she waited for him in silence. Going over to the little mech, Bayou tried to pry him off of the seeker, murmuring softly to him. "Come on now, Lugnut. You have to let go of Stranglehold. I don't... I don't think you'll be able to stay with us... Stranglehold is a busy king after all."

Lugnut only clung to Stranglehold tighter and cried harder.

Looking down to the small sparkling clinging to him, honestly wanting to stay with him. Despite everything he only witnessed moments ago... Lugnut still wanted to stay. Moving one of his hands, Stranglehold put it on Lugnut's back. His entire arm soon following to fend off Bayou's attempts to pry the sparkling off.

"He can... stay..." A pair of small tears slid down his cheeks. "All three... can stay..."

Lugnut trembled and clung to Stranglehold, sobbing brokenly. He wasn't going to be moved away from the seeker.

Spitbolt watched all this and a rage seemed to grow within her. Why was Lugnut acting this way? Fancy places like this weren't for the likes of them! They didn't belong here, yet still the little mech fought to stay. Clenching her fists, she said, "I want to go home."

Bayou had been surprised by his mate, but didn't argue. If Stranglehold wanted the sparklings, he wouldn't fight it. Turning around when he heard Spitbolt, he was confused. She sounded angry and impatient to leave. It then struck him. Spitbolt was bordering on the age of maturity. The instinct of 'survival of the fittest' had burned itself into her CPU, and she was too far gone to start turning back now. She believed that the slums were her place in life and nothing would change her mind now.

Sadly, Bayou got to his feet. If he tried to argue with her, it would only make her angry and violent... just like all the others who lived on the other side. "Let's go find a guard to escort out back home, Spitbolt," he said sorrowfully. "Just make sure you come back to play, ok?"

Stranglehold's processor barely registered what Spitbolt was saying. His attention was on the trembling sparkling under his arm. He wrapped the other around so he could hold Lugnut tightly. Lifting up his head, darkened hues looked over to Spitbolt. His mind was still too dazed with trying to recover from the mental stress. He fought to try and keep a rational thought running through his mind. "...Spitbolt... Before... ya go..."

Spitbolt paused, looking over her shoulder to Stranglehold. Her own crimson optics met the seeker's. "What is it?" she asked. "I gotta get home and make sure momma ain't drunk herself dead..."

Stranglehold shut his optics for a moment so he could get a right train of thought. When they opened, he tried to grin. "Try to come back... ya are always welcome in my home." His optics darkened as they dropped down to Lugnut. A hand moving to stroke the tears from his cheek. The two he cried still bore a stain on his own.

For the longest time, Spitbolt didn't answer. "Whatever," she said softly, turning to let the guard Bayou had found lead her out.

Lugnut huddled against Stranglehold, sniffling and making those hiccup sounds. His tars had slowed to a stop, and now he just clung to the seeker.

Bayou returned, and approaching the two, knelt down beside them. Gently stroking Lugnut's helm, he leaned in to kiss Stranglehold's tear streaked face. "I'm proud of you Strangle," he said softly. "You have no idea how proud I am."

Kissing the top of his mate's helm, he looked at the way Stranglehold held onto the sparkling. There really was a father hidden away under that armor of his.

Stranglehold lifted his head as his spark alerted him to the presence of it's other half. Singing the silent song that only the pair knew. He managed a slight curve grin before letting it pass. Fighting the memory and blocking himself from Bayou took a toll on his chassis. "That's the first time... anyone ever told me... they were proud of me." Darkened panes held a smoldering flicker of life to them. His fingers gently rubbing Lugnut's side to ease him and to reassure his own frazzled mind that this was real.

Bayou's spark sang reassuringly to Stranglehold, letting him know he was there to love and support him. "Well get used to it," Bayou teased gently.

"I'll make sure that you hear it a lot more often. Now come on, my love. Let's get the two of you to bed. This has been a little too draining for the both of you." Helping his mate to his feet, he picked up Lugnut and led them both to the bedroom.

Warily, because of his drained body, Stranglehold managed to balance himself. He glanced to his mate to make sure that Lugnut was still with him. Feeling oddly protective of the sparkling. "Bayou... I'm sorry. I'm not used to... being open..." He lowered his head, unable to meet his mate's gaze.

"I think I've noticed that by now, my love," Bayou said. Gently, he pulled his mate close and kissed him lovingly. "I'm sorry I aggravated you Strangle. I should have known better. Don't worry, I'll help you through this. I won't leave you to drown in the past, and right now, the future are these sparklings. We have to care for them because no one else will."

Rumbling softly, Stranglehold managed a faint smile. Those darkened panes brightened a degree so he could look to Bayou. A tired hand raising up to stroke his mate's cheek. Leaning in, he kissed him softly. An aching chassis wasn't so new to him, but it was something he had long since had to deal with.

Kissing back, Bayou finally pulled away and led his mate into the bedroom and onto the bed. "Time for you to get some rest, my love," he said before looking at the sparkling in his arms.

"And it looks like Lugnut beat you to it," he chuckled, gently setting the little mech down beside the seeker.

Tears still stained Lugnut's cheeks, and he had a troubled look on his sweet little face. Creating his own version of a whine, the sparkling tried to seek out a larger body to curl up against, and soon had squirmed himself right into the crook of Stranglehold's arm where he immediately relaxed.

Stranglehold moved his arm to pull Lugnut closer. Wrapping his other arm around the smaller form. He rumbled softly as he kissed the top of Lugnut's helmet. Speaking softly in that old language before he shut his optics down completely.

"Bayou... You going to lay down... too..." His question faded off as his exhausted form forced him into sleep.

Bayou smiled softly down at the two. As recharge claimed his mate before the question could be finished, he leaned down and kissed his lips sweetly. "No, my love," he answered, despite Stranglehold not hearing him.

"I still have work to do. You just stay here and sleep." That said, he silently got up and left the room. There was business to attend to.


	16. Chapter 16

Stranglehold's wings flexed in his sleep. His fingers flexing as he slowly started to awaken. Red panes flicking slowly to life after his joors of slumber. Stretching out, he moved to roll onto his back. For a moment forgetting that he had someone else on the bed.

Lugnut was still asleep, but was jarred into consciousness when Stranglehold moved. A pitiful, whining noise of protest escaped him as Stranglehold moved and changed his spot of comfort. After the 'episode' earlier that day, and now after having been woken up, the sparkling was sure to be cranky.

Hearing the whine, Stranglehold rolled back over onto his side. Bright panes looking down to see Lugnut. Moving his arm, he gently rubbed Lugnut's side before pulling the sparkling into his arms. Sitting up to get more comfortable, he stroked the side of Lugnut's helmet. "I woke ya up, sorry."

Lugnut pressed closer, thumb in his mouth as he made himself comfy once more. His free hand held onto the seeker tightly, not wanting to let go out of the fear that Stranglehold would want to send him away.

Moving from the bed, Stranglehold took care not to drop Lugnut. He took a moment to balance himself before he started walking again. "Lets go find Bayou... I think the both of could use some energy."

Taking care to make sure the sparkling was comfortable in his arms, he started out of his room to check the storage for his mate.

Bayou was indeed in the energon storage, working tirelessly. Earlier, he'd gone to the medbay again to get an update on Treadbite. The medic had replaced several damaged chips in the sparklings processor, and downloaded several things that should help the young mech learn faster and easier. Otherwise, the sparkling was recovering quite nicely.

Peering into the storage room, Stranglehold glanced to see who else was in the room before making his way towards his mate. "My spark just had to pick ya, didn't it?" He grinned as he playfully teased his mate. Slowly returning to his old self.

Bayou didn't even glance up, continuing with his work. "Well someone has to babysit you," he responded, teasing him back. "I just happened to be the only one right for the job."

Chuckling, Stranglehold headed over to a stack of energon cubes to remove one. "One in a million, my mate." He headed back over to his mate. Kissing the back of his neck.

Bayou smiled, pausing in his work to savor the feel of his mate's lips against his neck. Looking up, his smile grew as he saw Lugnut watching them both in silent curiosity. "Well hello there," he said gently, getting to his feet. "Have a good nap?"

The sparkling nodded mutely, then shot Stranglehold an accusing glance. He'd wanted to sleep a bit longer.

The mech grinned slightly. "I forgot that he was with me when I woke up."

Stranglehold turned his attention away from Lugnut before looking back. He then lifted he cube up to show it to the sparkling. "Peace?"

Lugnut eyed the cube before snatching it from Stranglehold. Dipping a finger into the life-giving substance, he then stuck that finger in his mouth, sucking off the fuel hungrily. It had been a while since he'd last refueled. The little mech repeated the finger dip process several times before actually drinking from the cube.

Stranglehold chuckled as he watched Lugnut. "Now that your happy, I'm going to get my own cube." He set down the drinking sparkling onto the table. Turning, he leaned in to kiss Bayou on the cheek before turning to get his own cube from the stack.

Lugnut didn't pay him any attention, still occupied by his cube.

Bayou smile at the kiss, then turned his attention to the sparkling. "Woah, slow down there!" he chuckled, stopping Lugnut from guzzling the energon too fast. "No one is going to take it away from you, you don't need to go so fast. You don't want to get over-energized."

"Ya best listen to Bayou. There's plenty more energon if ya need it. We don't want ya feeling ill."Picking out his own cube, Stranglehold glanced down the stacks to watch one of the guards. "My mate, have ya checked on Treadbite? Has that waste of a medic done any good?"

Bayou watched as grudgingly, the little mech slowed down. "Yes," he replied. "He's doing better, and I think he can be out of the medbay by tomorrow morning. The medic replaced whatever CPU chips that were fried, and also downloaded a language program in Treadbite. Treadbite will be able to pick up on the language and understand us, but he still needs to be exposed to the words so that the program can kick in."

Looking up at his mate, Bayou frowned slightly. "He's not a bad medic you know. He's just so scared that I think he's not running on his programming anymore. Fear is what keeps him doing his job."

Turning around to face his mate, Stranglehold raised an optic ridge. Glad that Treadbite was getting better, but he wasn't so sure about the medic. "He should be scared... He's only been here longer than I have and having someone know your one weakness isn't something I tread lightly about."

"I don't really think he would take advantage of you," Bayou said thoughtfully. "I think all he wants is a bit of respect and recognition. He's a medic, Strangle. Under that shell of fear, he just wants to do nothing more than help others."

"Hard to trust, my mate." Stranglehold walked back over to Bayou. Rumbling in thought. "I suppose I could try to treat him better. If ya think he deserves it, I'll try."

"I think he deserves being treated better, my love," Bayou said. "He's lived under the rule of the first noble, and he's still scared of the shadows cast by a dead mech. Don't let him think you're just as bad as the first... you're kind and caring. I may not know your past, but at least I know that much about the mech I love."

"The thing I try not to become, all because of the old noble, is the very thing I hated." Stranglehold stroked his mate's cheek affectionately.

"When ya go see the me- I mean... When we go to see..." Pausing, he mulled it over before frowning. "My mate, I do not even know the name of the medic. I shunned him and scared him. I never learned what his name is."

"Then make it right by asking him," Bayou said, pulling his mate close and nuzzling him. "Go to the medbay and see him. Lugnut and I will even come with you if you like."

Grinning, Stranglehold wrapped an arm around his mate. Kissing him softly. "I'll go and I would enjoy ya being by my side. For now... I just really want to have a drink."

Bayou smiled. Glancing towards Lugnut, he noticed the little sparkling was busy exploring the shelves of energon. Taking the opportunity, Bayou swiped Stranglehold's cube and took a sip, not swallowing. Pulling his mate close, pressing their bodies together tightly, he kissed him, letting the energon transfer from his mouth to the seeker's. As soon as Stranglehold swallowed, he pulled back with a grin, handing back the cube. "Drink up love," he said impishly.

Stranglehold was about to protest his cube being taken, but Bayou got to him first. His optics flickered in a blink as he was pulled close and then kissed. A deep rumble vibrated from him as he swallowed the transferred energon. He couldn't help but grin back. "Why ya crazy mech."

Putting the cube down on the table, he wrapped his arms around Bayou to keep him close. Glancing to make sure Lugnut was distracted, he grinned again to claim Bayou's lips in a kiss. He could still taste the energon lingering on his lips.

Bayou whimpered softly against Stranglehold's lips, kissing hungrily. His lips parted for his mate, begging to deepen the kiss as his arms wound around the seeker's waist. The flavor of energon mingling with Stranglehold's natural taste was absolutely delicious.

Bayou and Stranglehold thought they were being sneaky, but in fact, the were the ones being fooled. While the two were busy kissing, Lugnut crept up to the table and made off with the unfinished cube of energon.

Chuckling very lightly, Stranglehold happily deepened their kiss. His optics darkening as he leaned his mate back. He parted from their kiss only a moment to murmur against them. "I love you, Bayou." With those words said, he passionately claimed his mate's lips again. Deepening it without even being asked. His wings quivering at the taste of his mate and the energon. Too occupied with Bayou to notice the missing cube, but he wouldn't of minded anyway. Lugnut needed it more than he did.

Bayou groaned softly against the kiss, opening their bond link to send a pleasant wave of love to his mate. His tongue greeted the seeker's, twining and tasting lovingly. He didn't notice the energon theft either, so absorbed in his mate's attentions.

Stranglehold's arms tightened around Bayou feeling the warmth of love through their bond. His own spark latched onto it to send it's own feeling of love to Bayou. Rumbling softly against his lips, he enjoyed the sweet taste and his mate's playful antics. Pulling his head back only slightly, he kissed Bayou's upper lip. "Mmm. I could do this all day."

Bayou rumbled back, his CPu numb and rebooting. Stranglehold could quite literally deliver one mind-blowing kiss. A bit of logic awareness returning to him, he murmured. "Me too... but with the sparklings, I think we'll either need to cut back on 'personal' time, or find a way to get it done in secret. Don't want them to catch us..."

"So true, my mate." Stranglehold grinned and softly kissed Bayou's lips again before moving to seat him.

"For now Treadbite is still in recovery, so we don't have to worry about him. Lugnut on the other hand, he..." Turning to take his cube, Stranglehold paused in his reach and words. "He took my energon cube..."

Bayou blinked, then began laughing so hard he doubled over and had to sit. The look on Stranglehold's face was hilariously priceless, and he took a memory capture.

"The little thief!" he laughed. "He fooled us into thinking he was distracted the entire time!"

Looking back to his mate, Stranglehold moved around the desk to look for Lugnut. "The little sparkling is smarter and a lot trickier than I originally gave him credit for."

He couldn't help but chuckle slightly. Lugnut was a real wonder. One moment he was crying and clinging. The next he was fooling adult mechs and stealing their energon.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Bayou chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "How do you think he lived for so long?" he asked.

"It's street life basics. Trickery and theft is how sparklings learn to keep themselves alive. But don't think that he's all a lie. True, he can call up tears whenever he wants, but he's really a sensitive little thing, and gets upset easy. He'll only give you the fake treatment if he wants your attention or knows he's in big trouble."

Glancing back to his mate, Stranglehold stood back up. "I know he's sensitive. I'm just wondering where he ran off with the cube.. and Bayou, just how young are the sparklings before they are forced to learn to trick and steal?" He returned to the stack to get a third cube. Still needing his own energon to keep him up and running.

Bayou took a moment to think it over. "Well, if they live past the stage of needing someone to hand feed them - which mind you, is rare, since hardly anyone takes care of their sparklings - then I'd say they start learning at two decades ((equivalent of a human 2 year old)). Lugnut is almost 6 decades old, so he's been at it for quite a while."

"Hrm... There really has been a lot of suffering since I've been the ruler." Stranglehold slowly sipped his cube. His wings flexing out before pinning against his back again. "...Is Treadbolt the same age? And what of Spitbolt? How much older was she from Lugnut?"

"I never knew Treadbolt before yesterday, but to give a guess, I'd say he's 10 decades. And Spitbolt is halfway through her 13th decade. She's close to physical maturity, which explains why she's not keen on staying with us. She's completely convinced that the slums are where she belongs."

Looking at his mate, Bayou arched a brow ridge. "And it was messed up out there before you came along."

"All due to a poisoning, Treadbolt had no memory of the ten decades before he encountered us. I'm not sure to consider that a good thing or a bad thing." Stranglehold slowly sipped his energon as he mulled in his thoughts. "I shouldn't care about the outside or others, but ya just make it near impossible not to. Ya have a bigger effect on me than I would of guessed, my mate."

"You're not the only one with side effect, love," Bayou assured him. Bayou had never really been the type to anger easily, but ever since bonding, he gave in to stress a lot easier than he'd use to, often resulting in snapping at guards. He would apologize afterwards, be he still felt guilty. He was also more sex craven, and dirty thoughts would constantly run away with his CPU.

Turning around, Stranglehold headed back towards his mate. Sipping his cube slowly as he mulled to himself. "Our bonding truly does have an interesting effect on us, doesn't it?"

"That it does, love of mine," Bayou agreed, turning back to his work. "But I don't regret it. Not at all."


	17. Chapter 17

Lugnut had returned from wherever he'd disappeared to, cube nowhere to be seen but the energon in plain sight; all over his face. He looked up at the two adult mechs innocently, as if he's done nothing to be suspected of.

Finishing off his own cube, Stranglehold set it down. His head tilting when he spotted the smaller mech. A grin sliding to his visage. "Lugnut, where have ya been and have ya seen my energon cube?" He wanted to have a little game. Who could act more innocent.

Stranglehold would be sure to lose this battle. Lugnut blinked curiously, tilting his head to one side. He pointed to the empty cube Stranglehold had just set down. Wasn't that his cube? was what he seemed to be saying.

Taking the cube in hand, Stranglehold crushed it so there was no evidence. "That was my second. Did ya see where the first one went off to?" His optic ridges raised up. It was becoming hard not to laugh.

Lugnut looked like the very picture of innocent confusion. He shook his head, shrugging, then began to look around, peeking under and around Bayou's desk as if he were helping to look for the missing cube. If they hadn't known before hand for certain that he'd taken it, no one would have been able to suspect him... of course, aside from the mess on his face.

Chuckling lightly, Stranglehold continued to watch Lugnut. Glancing up to his mate with a playful look. He followed the sparkling for a moment before picking him up to stop him from the search. "Now what's this?" He slid his thumb down Lugnut's cheek, the vibrant violet-pink coming off to rest on his thumb.

Uh oh. He was as good as busted, but Lugnut kept up his lie. He shook his head and pointed to his first cube which sat empty in the middle of the floor. He'd only had that one. that must be where the mess had come from.

"Ya sure about that? I don't recall seeing ya with a messy face. Bayou told ya to take it slow." Stranglehold raised an optic ridge. That infamous grin still on his visage. Wonder how well the sparkling could keep up his charade.

The curse of being unable to speak. He couldn't explain as easily without words, but he kept trying anyway. He tried to relay the lie of having guzzled the rest of his cube once more as soon as Bayou wasn't looking.

"Right.." Stranglehold shook his head. Having fun with Lugnut. "Then where did ya just come from then? Ya sure ya didn't snag and run?" He'd stop eventually. For now, it was too much fun.

Lugnut was becoming flustered, but he stubbornly kept to it. He pointed to the many shelves and cabinets of the storage room. He's been exploring.

Turning his head, Stranglehold looked to Bayou. "Ya think it's true, my mate?" He grinned as he looked back down to Lugnut.

Lugnut cast Bayou a look, begging for him to defend him.

Bayou sighed and got to his feet, approaching the two and taking Lugnut in his arms. "I want to say yes, but the truth is no." He put a finger against Lugnut's lips as the sparkling opened his mouth to wail.

"Listen to me Lugnut. You're living with us now, not on the outside, but either way, stealing something that isn't yours is wrong. Do you understand? I'll let you off the hook this time, but next time I won't be so easy on you. No more stealing, alright?"

Stranglehold moved to be beside his mate. Wrapping his arms around his waist to let his head rest on Bayou's shoulder. "He's right. Lugnut, ya are welcome in our home. Ya don't have to worry about being sent away or not having what ya need. We'll happily provide it for ya."

Lugnut looked back and forth between the two, and his look of innocent cluelessness melted away into guilt. Tears stinging his optics, he unspaced the stolen cube, now empty, and held it out to Stranglehold apologetically. He hadn't meant to do anything bad. He'd just been hungry.

Moving a hand, Stranglehold took the cube to toss it down onto the table. He grinned softly as he wiped away the tears. "It's alright. Yer not used to this. Just ask one of us next time. We'll be happy to make sure that ya don't go hungry."

Lugnut nodded sullenly. No more stealing. Whenever he got the urge, he would need to remind himself; he had parents now. They would make sure he got what he needed.

"Good. Now... what do ya say that we all go and check up on Treadbite?" Stranglehold kissed Bayou's neck before he pulled back. Pulling a cloth from subspace. "When we're all clean of course."

Lugnut nodded rapidly. He wanted to see his friend, hoping he was better. He didn't understand that Treadbite however, wouldn't remember him anymore.

Grinning, he began to slowly clean Lugnut's energon stained face. "Ya'll have to be careful with Treadbite though. He's still in recovery, so he's going to be weak. Right?" Stranglehold glanced to his mate since Bayou knew more than he did.

Bayou nodded sadly. They would have to tell him however. It would be better than letting Lugnut find out on his own. "Lugnut," he said gently. "You have to remember, Treadbite was very sick. The bad energon he ate made some parts of him sicker than others. You understand that, right?"

Lugnut nodded, not seeing where this was going.

"His processor got the sickest, Lugnut. It's very likely that... that he won't remember anything... not even you."

Pulling the cloth back, Stranglehold tossed the it away. "From what I've been told, yer friend is going to have to re-learn everything, so to him, ya might be looked up to. Ya understand?" He couldn't speak much on the situation when Bayou knew more, but he was trying.

Lugnut was confused and upset. Treadbite didn't remember him? How could that be possible? They hung out with each other almost every single day! And now... he needed to learn everything again? What about all the fun adventures they'd had in the junkyard? The games they always played... had he forgotten all of those too?

Stranglehold sighed reluctantly. Moving, he took Lugnut from Bayou. "From what I was told... the poison from the energon had a very bad effect on Treadbite. As we said... he wont remember ya. He wont remember anything."

His shoulders slumped as he frowned. "I haven't seen Treadbite since I gave him to the guard... but ya heard Bayou, and myself... Sorry Lugnut."

Lugnut looked like he was in shock. He didn't make a single noise, as tears gathered and fell. You couldn't relearn memories, and thus, the Treadbite he knew was gone. Holding on to the seeker, the little mech tried to wrap his processor around that fact.

Bayou watched Lugnut sadly, and gently reached out to stroke his helm. "It'll be ok," he murmured. "He may not remember, but in his spark, he's still the same Treadbite. Everything will turn out ok, you'll see."

Stranglehold gently rubbed Lugnut's back. Holding the sparkling close. "Memories can be taken, but it really is the spark that makes ya, ya."

Rumbling softly, he kissed the top of his helmet. "Trust me. He was lucky to know ya before this. I was never so fortunate."

Lugnut didn't respond aside from burying his face against Stranglehold's neck, tears still falling. Quivering slightly, he decided that he had to see Treadbite for himself. To make sure it was all true.

Stranglehold rubbed Lugnut's back. He lifted his gaze to his mate. "We should go, Bayou." His fingers continued to gently rub Lugnut's back reassuringly.

Bayou nodded. "Keep an optic on to him?" he asked softly, looking at Lugnut. The sparkling didn't seem to hear, and they set off for the medbay. When they arrived at the medbay, Bayou looked around for the medic.

Stranglehold kept rubbing Lugnut's back to try and soothe him. Feeling those silent tears slipping into the armor gaps. Keeping himself silent, he paused at the door. Keeping outside until he was called in.

The medic was busy giving Treadbite a small sip of energon. He just spoke softly, telling the unfortunate sparkling what was going on. Teaching by showing and doing was the fastest way. Lifting up his head, tired optics looked back at Bayou. He paused only for a second before telling Treadbite he would be right back. Gently rubbing the small mech's arm to soothe him.

Treadbite had been awake for quite a few hours and had established a base of trust with the medic. Already, a few words and sentences had been learned, but not enough for him to hold a conversation, only grasp the concept and formation of sounds. Confused as to why the medic was moving away, he looked around to see the blue mech from when he'd first awakened.

Bayou approached the medic, noting how worn out he looked. "How's he doing?" he asked softly, glancing at the helpless sparkling.

"Better. I've been with him every moment since you last left." The medic rubbed the back of his neck. His joints protesting the movement with a low whine. "He's slowly starting to learn. Treadbite recognizes me and knows I'm there to help. I've been talking to him and slowly getting to figure out how to make sounds, but words are still a time away."

"Have you had a chance to rest at all?" Bayou asked, a worried look on his face. "You look ready to pass out."

Unspacing a cube of energon, he handed it to the weary medic. "Here, you should sit down and take a break. It's alright if Treadbite has visitors, isn't it?"

"Resting is a luxury I couldn't afford. I had to stay awake to make sure Treadbite remained stable. There isn't anyone else who could tend to him while I rest." Glancing at the cube then Bayou, he gratefully took it. "Thanks.."

Thinking over the question, he glanced to the sparkling. "Ah.. Hrm... Just take it one at a time and keep your voice low. He's stable, but I'm not going to push it." Moving, he made his way over to a chair. Letting out a sigh of relief. It felt so good to sit.

Bayou nodded in thanks. Going outside, he looked at his mate. "He says we should come in one at a time. Should I take Lugnut in first?" He looked at the little mech in Stranglehold's arms, and Lugnut shakily returned the gaze.

Looking up to his mate, Stranglehold was still rubbing Lugnut's back. He glanced down to the small mech in his arms. "Lugnut, do ya want to go with Bayou and see Treadbite or stay with me?"

He wanted to see Treadbite. No memory or not, he was still his friend. Bayou took Lugnut in his arms and looked at Stranglehold. "Come in in a few minutes, alright?" He didn't want to stress the ill sparkling by having everyone come in too fast.

Carrying Lugnut inside, he carefully set the little one on the ground. "Treadbite, this is Lugnut," he said softly. "He's your friend Treadbite."

The helpless sparkling stared up at Bayou blankly. He'd fed him earlier, so he wasn't someone to worry about. He looked at Lugnut however and didn't remember a thing about him. The little mech was as good as a stranger to him.

Lugnut smiled at his friend and tried to come closer, but Treadbite shied away. The little teal sparkling looked as though he'd been slapped in the face. He really didn't remember him. Tears began pouring down his face and Lugnut started to cry loudly.

Bayou rushed for Stranglehold, who was the only one who could calm the little mech.

Bayou wouldn't of had to get him, Stranglehold came into the room the moment he heard that cry. He paused so he wouldn't run into his mate. Sidestepping around Bayou, he walked over to the table to scoop Lugnut up in his arms. "Easy... Easy..." He lowered his head to kiss the top of Lugnut's head. Softly rubbing his back to soothe him.

The medic nearly choked on his energon when he saw Stranglehold enter his med bay. A chill went up his metal spine. Yet the chill went away when he saw how... kind, the tyrant was being. It just didn't make sense. Stranglehold was being honestly kind? It was so confusing.

Lugnut wailed brokenly, in anguish from the way Treadbite had reacted to him. He clung to Stranglehold tightly, cries muffled as he buried his face against the seeker's neck. He'd been warned, but he hadn't been prepared.

On the medtable, Treadbite had curled into a ball when Stranglehold came in, but the sudden appearance of the large mech hadn't been directed at him. Listening to the other sparkling cry, Treadbite could recognise emotions. He knew what happy, sad, angry, and all the other feelings looked like, and right now, the crying sparkling looked sad and hurt. But why? Sitting up slowly, he tried to reach out to Lugnut, wanting to understand what was wrong.

Stranglehold spoke softly to try and calm Lugnut down. "It will be okay. He's still yer friend. He'll learn that ya used to play. It will take time, but he'll know. We'll tell him when he's ready." His red panes moved from Lugnut when he saw Treadbite move.

Slowly, he moved to sit on the table. "Hey.." He put a hand down to show he was safe.

"It's okay. Lugnut used to know ya. He's sad because ya don't know him." Even if Treadbite didn't understand the words, he hoped that the tone got across.

Treadbite didn't understand a single word being said to him, and he looked at the seeker nervously. He glanced back at the crying sparkling and again couldn't understand why he was so sad. Cautiously creeping forward, Treadbite reached out to pat Lugnut on the back.

"Lugnut." Stranghold gently rubbed the sparkling's side. His other hand moved so he could pull Treadbite closer. Speaking in a soft tone. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt ya."

Treadbite flinched at the touch, but Stranglehold's tone didn't seem hostile. Looking at Lugnut, he tried to draw the attention of the crying sparkling, gently tugging on his arm.

Lugnut looked at him in surprise, his cries muting, but tears still falling.

Treadbite tried to wipe away the tears.

"He's trying to help, Lugnut." Stranglehold softly kissed the top of the sparkling's helmet. "We don't want to see ya cry. It makes us sad and even he seems to understand that ya are sad."

Lugnut didn't know what to do.

As hard as Treadbite tried to wipe the tears away, they kept falling. Yet even as more fell, the sick sparkling patiently wiped those away as well

Treadbite then pulled Lugnut into a hug, mimicking what he'd seen Stranglehold do.

Grinning softly down at the two, Stranglehold was careful not to let either of them fall. "He's still yer friend, Lugnut. He's trying."

Gently, he rubbed Lugnut's back. Cautiously doing the same to Treadbite. "This is a good thing, Treadbite. A real good thing."

How was he suppose to respond to this? Lugnut stifled a so and clung to his friend.

Treadbite patted him on the head.

"I know it's not easy, Lugnut, but he's trying to understand." Stranglehold tried to keep up his grin, but it was threatening to falter. It was so hard to keep grinning when his spark ached. Despite what had happened, Treadbite was still trying to learn.

Bayou watched this in silence. He could feel his mate's pain and his own as well. It was a saddening sight to watch these two sparklings, but there was nothing they could do other than have patience. Turning to the medic, the blue mech asked, "Will he be able to leave the medbay soon?"

The medic glanced over to Bayou when he was addressed. "Treadbite is stable and he's set on energy. Sociality is good for him. I'd prefer if he remained in the med bay so he could remain under my supervision."

Tired optics returned to where Treadbite was. "I do need to get a good recharge... I suppose I could leave him in your hands. Just make sure to keep him only in a certain area. He's still nervous around those he doesn't know."

Bayou nodded. "You need to get some rest," he said. "We'll take him off your hands until you think you'll need to see him again." He knew Treadbite would be nervous around new people and places, but a little work would fix that. He was part of their growing family now.

The medic rubbed his tired optics. "I'll still need to give him a check up every astrocycle. To make sure his systems are stable. Just make sure he doesn't get hurt. Any injury, even something small, can become a big problem."

Bayou nodded again. "Got it. You just go ahead and recharge. We don't want you to pass out from exhaustion."

Going back over to his mate and the sparklings, he knelt down in front of them. "Hey Treadbite," he said softly.

Treadbite recognized the name to be his own, and looked at the blue mech.

"We're going to take you to our room now, ok?"

Stranglehold also looked to his mate. His hands resting on the backs of Lugnut and Treadbite. "This is going to be a lot more interesting than we would of thought, my mate." He still tried to grin before looking down to his... The word just wouldn't come. He still couldn't register the family concept yet.


	18. Chapter 18

Several weeks had passed, and Treadbite proved to be a quick learner. He'd picked up on the language easily enough, and although sometimes certain words confused him, he could hold his own in a conversation.

Lugnut was doing his very best to be a help, but he was useless in the field of speaking, which upset him. Still, he was a great help to Bayou and Stranglehold.

It did amaze Stranglehold at how quickly he was adapting and learning. What he was more proud of than Treadbite catching onto speaking was him getting into the games. One of which he was playing with them right now. He moved his wings around, which moved the pair that were attached to them.

Chuckling lightly, he looked between them. Even he had eased up and had returned to his grinning self now that Treadbite was out of the danger zone. That and Lugnut was happy because he had a friend.

Bayou sat on the bed reading a datapad, listening to the sparklings giggle as they played with Stranglehold. He was happy that the two little ones were doing well, and happier still that his mate had settled into the groove of being a loving, caring parent. He really was a wonderful father, even if he didn't agree.

Turning his head, Stranglehold looked over to his mate. Grinning, he moved an arm so he could run his fingers down Bayou's back. He loved playing with his mate.

Bayou shuddered at the touch, stifling a groan. He hated being teased, especially since they hadn't been able to have any personal time for over a month. He was sexually frustrated, and Stranglehold knew it. "What do you think you're doing?" he grumbled, shooting the seeker a look.

"Playing." Stranglehold looked up to his mate with a grin. Bayou might of been frustrated, but he was still new while the former tyrant was used to playing whenever he wanted to. It wasn't so much easy for him to crave his mate, but have to deny his urges because of the sparklings.

"I think I know *that*," Bayou said with a sigh. "But do you have to play like that? It's not fair when I can't really play back."

"Ya can play. Just not in the way we want to." Stranglehold looked back to the sparklings then back to his mate. "Maybe the medic could keep an optic on them for awhile. Ya did say I should start respecting him, my mate."

"I said respect him, not turn him into the babysitter," Bayou said in exasperation. And yet, it was too tempting. He needed to get rid of the tension and have some alone time with his mate, or else he might have a breakdown.

"If he can handle these two, then I know he's trustworthy. He has my partial respect, but if he does this for me, for us, then it wouldn't only help me." Grinning, Stranglehold stroked Bayou's back again. "We both need time together, my mate."

Bayou shivered again, a soft sound escaping him. "F-Fine... you get to take them over there though," he said, giving in. He really needed to be with the seeker alone for a few hours.

"Alright." Turning his head, Stranglehold stopped his wings. "Lugnut, Treadbite, playtime is over. Bayou and I need some alone time. Ya two mind playing wit the medic for a few joors?"

The sparklings let go of Stranglehold's wings, confused as to why Stranglehold wanted to be alone with Bayou. At the mention of the medic however, Treadbite perked up. He'd taken a deep liking for the medical personally, since he'd been the first to start taking care of him. He idolized the older mech, and Bayou was sure that later in life, Treadbite would be a medic or scholar.

"I'll take that as a yes." Chuckling, Stranglehold folded his wings in before sliding off the bed. He swept the two sparklings into his arms with a grin. Glancing to his mate for a moment, he started out to head to the med bay. "Lugnut, be good for the medic, alright? We'll play again when I come for ya."

Lugnut stared at Stranglehold innocently. He was always well behaved, so what was the point in telling him to be good?

Chuckling softly, Stranglehold didn't comment. Once he got to the medic, he explained that he needed some time alone with Bayou. Of course playing babysitter wasn't the medic's idea of fun... but he agreed.

Rubbing the top of Treadbite's head, the medic watched as Stranglehold left. "Looks like you two are with me. Now... just what to do..."

The two sparklings clung to the medic, smiling up at him. "We play now?" Treadbite asked, his voice soft and sweet. He'd turned out to be a very soft-spoken little mech.

"Yes, we play now." The medic smiled. Rubbing Treadbite on the head. "Pick a game." He wasn't fond of the sudden arrival, but he was growing to enjoy seeing the sparklings. Treadbite in particular.


	19. Chapter 19

Back in the bedroom, Bayou was waiting for his mate to return. Oh Primus, it had been so long, and already, he was growing hard just thinking about what they could do now that they had each other to themselves.

"Bayou, my mate." Stranglehold rumbled as he let his spark reach out to his mate. Letting him know that he wasn't the only one ready. Once he slipped into his room, he made sure the door closed and locked. A grin on his visage with a hungry and lusty look in his optics. No need to hide his craving for Bayou as it was just them. Alone at last.

Bayou was off the bed and had Stranglehold pinned to the door in half a nanoclick. Claiming his mate in a hungry kiss, he pressed his body against the seeker's tightly, grinding against him needily. Oh Primus, to think he'd been holding back this urge for more than a month!

"No teasing, Strangle, please," he begged. "Just take me now."

Stranglehold wasn't so much surprised at his mate's actions. He kissed his mate back as he wrapped his arms around Bayou's waist. Groaning at the feel of the movements. "I've waited too long. No teasing."

His hands moved down to remove Bayou's skidplate first. He then tossed it to the side before twisting around so he could pin him against a wall and not a door. His fingers working to remove both their codpieces to toss them. Twin rubies looked down into those begging blue before claiming Bayou's lips in a hungy kiss.

His erection released from it's prison, Bayou groaned in relief. The groan however was swallowed by Stranglehold's mouth on his. Clutching his mate's shoulders, Bayou whimpered pleadingly, pressing his body against the seekers. He needed him so badly.

"Mmm. I love it when you beg for me." Stranglehold moved back from his mate only so he could thrust up into his mate with a single movement. Letting a moan of delight escape him as he filled Bayou.

Pressing himself to pin his mate against the wall, he began his rough movements. Pulling back only half way before thrusting hard once again. He gripped his mate's hips to be sure that he didn't move.

Bayou cried out as he was penetrated, absolute bliss washing over his chassis. "Oh Primus, Strangle!" he gasped, whimpering for more. "Please... m-more..!" He quivered in pleasure doorwings rattling against the wall.

"Your begging is my command." Stranglehold kissed his mate's neck before claiming his lips in another kiss. His tongue seeking out Bayou's own. Just as he was begged, he let his cables emerge from his wrists.

Moving one of Bayou's legs to spread him further, he had his cables wrap around the limb so his hand could start stroking Bayou's rod. The cables from the other wrist slid over his own hand so one of them could slide it's way into the hard rod. Being coaxed in by the strokes.

Optics flaring, Bayou cried out into the kiss. They had only done the cable thing once, and it was still as painful as the first time. His rod stiffened even more, burning with pleasurable pain as the cable invaded. The blue mech clutched his mate's shoulders tightly enough to dent the armor.

"Mmm. You said more, Bayou." Stranglehold kissed his mate's neck with an affectionate rumble. He didn't slow down or stop his rough thrusts. Trying to hit that sweet spot to get Bayou to scream. It was such a sound he loved hearing and he wanted to hit it before he came. First round or not, he loved his mate's voice.

Bayou's cries came out relentlessly, but the moment he felt Stranglehold thrust hard against his sweetspot, he screamed. Unrestrained pleasure consumed his chassis, and he quivered uncontrollable. "A-ahhh! S-Strangle!"

"Ah, there's the spot." Stranglehold rumbled and kissed his mate's neck. Gripping Bayou's hip, he continued to thrust. Feeling himself coming oh so close to his first climax. His fingers switched to knead Bayou's rod. The cable moving inside to further coax Bayou to his own. He moved his head to kiss Bayou's audio. "I'm so glad we were finally able to be alone."

Bayou could only whimper and scream in response. He would have already hit his climax the moment Stranglehold found his sweetspot, if it weren't for the cable. As it was, energy somehow managed to spurt it's way past the invading cable, seeping down his length as his hips jerked desperately. Each buck took the cable in deeper, flaring pain as well as pleasure.

Moving his head, Stranglehold claimed Bayou's lips in another kiss. Rumbling into it, he moved his hand to hold Bayou's hip once again. He thrust into his mate a few more times before hitching his hips, his chassis pressing against Bayou. Thrusting once more, he groaned into their kiss when he finally allowed himself to come to his climax. At the same time, he finally called his cables back to let Bayou have his.

Bayou screamed into the kiss, the loud noise muffled. His climax spilled out, staining their chests and abdomens with his hot energy. The blue mech shivered and jerked as Stranglehold filled him to the brink with his own load.

"So good..." Stranglehold parted from their kiss to speak. He kissed his mate softly with another buck to make sure he filled Bayou. Retracting his cables, he pulled himself from Bayou. Licking the energy off on his way down. "Mmm. I want your real taste my mate."

His mate's energy seeping from his port, Bayou whimpered as Stranglehold pulled out. "O-oohhh... n-need more Strangle," he groaned. He hadn't had enough of his mate's attentions yet. "P-Please...!"

"Don't worry, my mate, we're hardly through. I just want your taste before we move. I've missed it so very much." Stranglehold grinned as he finally got to his knees, licking Bayou's rod. He rubbed his mate's hips before moving his head so he could take his treat. Licking the underside as he went down. Getting the sweet taste that he loved.

Bayou moaned and bucked, his hands taking hold of his mate's helm. "Ooo, Primus!" His hard member throbbed for attention, and his hips jerked again. "P-please," he begged, wanting to feel his mate practically devour him.

Grinning around his treat, Stranglehold went down so he could have Bayou's entire length in his mouth. Gently sucking to get his throat cables to constrict around the hard rod. His tongue rubbed the underside of it as he moved his head up and then back down.

Rumbling deeply to get the vibrations. Loving how Bayou begged and how good he tasted. Though that wasn't Bayou's only fun. A set of cables emerged from the former tyrant's wrist to move around to slide into Bayou's aft. The twin cables rubbing up against sensor nodes as they searched for the sweet spot.

Bayou nearly doubled over at the pleasurable assault. He clutched the seeker's helm tightly, hips jerking as he thrust into Stranglehold's mouth. "A-Ahhh! So good! D-Don't stop - oooh!" He groaned and writhed under his mate's attentions, gasping as cables slid into his port.

"Uhhnnn! R-Right th-the - ahh!" Bayou screamed as his sweetspot was found.

Stop? Oh that was far from Stranglehold's mind. He continued to lick and suck on his mate's rod. The vibration of his rumble growing louder at the scream of pleasure. Grinning, he had his cables rub against that spot again.

And again, Bayou screamed. He wasn't sure which direction to lean towards; into Stranglehold's mouth, or press back against the deliciously pleasurable cables? His knees were threatening to give out on him, and his rod was throbbing, begging for release as his spilled drops of precum.

Stranglehold grinned at the scream. Loving that sound. Pulling his head back, he licked at the crown. "Do come for me, my mate." Flexing his fingers, he dug them into Bayou's hips. As he went down again, he took the entire length back in. Sucking and licking the base. His fingers working the cables in his mate's hips. Wanting to get that sweet taste.

Crying out, Bayou hit climax, unable to hold himself back. He released his load down Stranglehold's throat, fingers twitching against his mate's helm, moaning the seeker's name loudly.

Stranglehold rumbled as he eagerly swallowed what his mate gave him. Taking each delicious drop of energy. His fingers quivered at the taste. Pulling his head back, he sucked along Bayou's rod to make sure he got every drop. Sucking gently on the tip, he licked it with a tender kiss. "Mm. So delicious." Pulling his cables back, he looked up to his mate with a grin. Licking his lips.

Panting, Bayou slid down the wall to the ground. his entire chassis was still singing with pleasure, and an occasional shiver and groan would make themselves known. "Oooh, Strangle..." he moaned, gazing at his mate lustily. His stare looked over the seeker, landing on the large rod in front of him. Bayou all but pounced, bending down to take his beloved's crown past his lips.

Chuckling, Stranglehold watched as his mate came down. He grinned back at Bayou playfully. "So much fun, my mate." Rumbling, he was about to lean forward to kiss Bayou when he went down instead. Optics brightened when he saw and felt his mate. A soft moan slid past his lips as he leaned back. His hands going down behind him to keep him from falling.

Tongue teasing over his mate's tip, Bayou rumbled happily. Slowly, he began bobbing his head, taking a bit more of Stranglehold into his mouth little by little. He loved his mate's flavor more than the finest energon ever found. Hands kneading the seeker's inner thighs, Bayou rumbled again.

Stranglehold moaned at the feel. One of his hands moved to rest on Bayou's helmets. Holding onto it as he bucked up into his mate. "Ooh... Bayou..." He let his head go back with a moan. It was surprising how good it.

Tongue caressing the underside of his mate's member, Bayou took him even further into his mouth, sucking and licking lustily. Taking the entire hard length down his throat, Bayou let his throat cabled constrict pleasurably and purred.

Moaning out again, Stranglehold just shivered in pleasure. Oh slag this felt so good. His fingers flexed over Bayou's helmet. Gripping it as he bucked in reaction to make sure his mate could feel every bit of his length. A louder moan slipped past his lips at the vibrations. Not one to be having all he fun, and because he couldn't resist, he let his cables slink out. One set teasing Bayou's aft again. The other set moving to wrap around his rod. One of the two teased the tip.

Bayou groaned, hips bucking. Not fair! It was his turn to be giving the pleasure! Sucking harder on his mate's rod, he bobbed his head more, caressing the hard length with his tongue. Occasionally as he pulled back, he would let his dental plates gently scrape over the surface of Stranglehold's member.

Laughing for a moment, Stranglehold soon had it turn into a louder moan. His fingers clutching his mate's helmet as he bucked. Feeling himself already close as pleasing Bayou and getting his delicious taste always helped him get hard. Changing his cables slightly, he moved them to give a slight thrusting movement. Letting them find that sweet spot again. With those occupied, he let the other move so it could be coaxed further into Bayou's rod. Bucking again, he moaned louder. Oh slag this was feeling good.

Bayou's cry was muffled by the member in his mouth. His own hips bucked desperately trying to take the invading cables further in. Precum leaked around the cable that was penetrating his rod, and bayou groaned, the sound turning into vibrations for his mate. Servicing his mate, he greedily tried to get him to climax, wanting the seeker's delicious nectar.

Those vibrations just pushed him further towards the edge. Stranglehold moaned out as he bucked his hips again. The cables from Bayou's aft rubbed up against the sweet spot again. The other set tightened around Bayou's rod as the cable went in deeper. It's size growing slightly inside to increase the pleasure. While it did that, it's owner's hand tightened on Bayou's head. Bucking up, he pushed and held Bayou's head down. Moaning out his mate's name as he finally hit his climax. Giving Bayou just what he wanted.

With a pulsing, hard rod down his throat, Bayou's screams were nothing more than strong vibrations. Somehow, he managed to swallow despite his cries, drinking down his mate's hot offering. He couldn't get it all however, and slight trickles of energy spilled down the corners of his mouth. When Stranglehold had nothing more to give, Bayou pulled away, a delirious expression of pleasure on his face.

Panting for only a moment himself, Stranglehold moved to lean his mate back into the wall. Licking off his own excess energy, which tasted slightly bitter to him, he kissed Bayou with a soft rumble. The cables from Bayou's aft returned, but he didn't retract the ones in his rod. Not just yet anyway. "Pure bliss my love. There is but one more thing before I take you to the showers." The hand with the cables moved to stroke the hard rod.

Bayou groaned, kissing his mate hungrily. Wrapping his arms around the seeker's shoulders, he whimpered against his lips, bucking wantingly and driving the cables even deeper. "S-So close...!" he panted, optics flaring and dimming. "M-More Strangle... m-more..!"

"Of course you can have more." Stranglehold continued to stroke Bayou's rod. Letting the cable go deeper inside of his mate. Grinning, he let the other move to push it's way in with the first. His other arm wrapped around Bayou's waist to keep him close. Grinning again, he claimed Bayou's lips. Leaning into him as he deepened their kiss. Loving the sweet taste and wanting to hear Bayou moan and scream into it like he did before.

Bayou screamed indeed. Clutching his mate tightly, he whimpered loudly. "A-ahhh! C-Can't hold back!" he groaned, climax making his armor rattle as he shook.

"Want me to pull my cables back, my mate?" Stranglehold rumbled as he toyed with Bayou, stroking the already aching rod. He grinned down at his mate. Kissing his lips softly with a low rumble.

Bayou nodded, needing to let his energy free. It hurt to have it bottled up. "Pl-Please!" he begged.

Kissing Bayou's lips tenderly, Stranglehold continued to stroke his mate's rod. Grinning, he pulled Bayou close. He finally recalled his cables back to his wrist to let Bayou have his pained release at last.

Bayou's cry practically split the air around them. Doorwings quivered so hard they looked like they were fluttering. Hot energy spilled out over his chassis, and Bayou whimpered, each throb of his member expelling more of his sexual fluids.

"Mmm. I love you, Bayou." Stranglehold kissed his mate tenderly. Stroking his rod to help him finish. Grinning down, he chuckled softly. "We're far from through, my mate and you've come, how many times now?"

"Th-Three," Bayou stammered between kisses. He was more than willing to go more rounds than that, and the thought of it made his freshly spent rod stiffen once more.

"By the time we're done, my mate... you will be tired. -Very- tired." Chuckling, Stranglehold moved back from Bayou. Getting to his boots, he grabbed Bayou's hands to pull his mate up with him. Wrapping his arms around Bayou's waist to keep him from falling. "Shall we head to the showers, love?"

"Mm, lets," Bayou purred, pulling Stranglehold into a kiss. He wondered just what else his beloved had in store for him.

Grinning, Stranglehold put an arm around his mate's waist. Guiding him over to the showers. "I just know you're going to love this." Chuckling, he dipped his head to kiss Bayou's neck.

Bayou groaned and tilted his head so that Stranglehold could better reach his neck. "Mm... then how about showing me instead of talking about it?" he teased.

"I will in mere moments, my mate." Stranglehold kissed and gently nibbled on Bayou's neck. Once they were in the showers, he made sure the door shut behind them. "Go turn on the showers my love. I'll be with you shortly."

Bayou pouted but did as he was told. Turning the water taps, he adjusted it for the perfect temperature. Not cold but not too hot. Stepping under the flow of water, he sighed in relaxation.

"Feel good, my mate?" Stranglehold grabbed a clean cloth from a nook in the wall. Looking back to his mate, he grinned. Letting thoughts of what he wanted to do slip through their bond. One in particular didn't have images, but Bayou would feel something rubbing the inside of his aft port. So it felt like, but Stranglehold was toying with what their bond could do.

Bayou shivered, intake valves hitching. Groaning, he turned to look at his mate. "H-Hey... how are you d-doing that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Just seeing how our bond is, my mate." Stranglehold walked over to Bayou. Dropping the cloth on Bayou's head, he grinned. "It seems that my spark and our bond is strong. Strong enough for me to play with your sensors."

Bayou whipped the cloth off his head and glared at his mate. Concentrating, he sent Stranglehold the sensation of having an erotic touch all over his wings. "How do you like it?"

Stranglehold shivered at the feel. His fingers quivering under it. "That cheating. You never let me touch your door-wings." It was true. He had stopped before they were even bonded to touch Bayou's door wings since he was so paranoid about them.

"You never said your wings were off limits," Bayou responded bluntly. "So it's perfectly fair." Turning his back to Stranglehold, said doorwings twitched, as if taunting the seeker.

It was an irresistible opportunity, especially since Bayou wouldn't be expecting it. In the beginning, he hadn't let Stranglehold touch his doorwings because he hadn't trusted him to be careful. He knew better now.

Oh, it really was too tempting to him. "You are a devious mech, my mate." Grinning, Stranglehold moved up closer behind his mate. Moving his hands, he ran them down along the sides of the door-wings. He chuckled lightly as he moved his hands to gently massage the door-wings

Bayou jumped in alarm, nearly panicking at the touch to his doorwings. "Wh-What are you d-doing?" he stammered before a groan let itself free.

"You left the temptation open to me." Lowering his head, Stranglehold kissed the back of Bayou's neck. Gently massaging just one part of the door-wings. "Don't you trust me, my mate?"

Bayou shivering and groaned, not sure if he should let his doorwings be touched. They were so very sensitive. "I-I trust you," he said softly, looking over his shoulder nervously.

"Then relax, my mate." Stranglehold moved so he could kiss one of the door-wings. Rumbling softly as he kissed another part of the door-wing.

"You know I wont ever hurt you... not on purpose." He had to pause before continuing. Knowing he already hurt Bayou while they were bonded.

"I know," Bayou whispered, gasping at the kisses. The doorwing trembled, and Bayou shivered. He just hoped that Stranglehold didn't do anything on accident that would hurt him.

"This would be something more to on the bed, than in the shower, my mate." Kissing another part of Bayou's door-wing, Stranglehold slid an arm around Bayou's waist. Pulling him close. "I want to know how every inch of these feel. To know how delicate and how much you worry about them."

Shivering at each touch, Bayou leaned back against his mate. "I trust you," he said again, tilting his head back against Stranglehold's shoulder.

"Lets get clean and retreat to the bed." Stranglehold kissed the top of Bayou's helmet. Moving with him to go under the running water. "I want to lay with you. There's always another day and more time to play."

"Mm, but you promised me more!" Bayou said with a disappointed point. He'd been wanting to play some more with his mate, and who know when they would get another chance

"You promised to make me so tired by the end of this." He turned around in Stranglehold's embrace to face him, pressed chest to chest so that they could feel their sparks singing to each other.

Lowering his head, Stranglehold kissed Bayou to silence him. His arms wrapping around his waist to hold his mate close. Listening to the silent song of their sparks. Parting their lips, he looked down into Bayou's optics. "I haven't forgotten what I said. Do you think I would miss out on a chance to hear you scream in pleasure?"

"You just enjoy teasing me," Bayou pouted, kissing back. "You love making me squirm and beg, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Stranglehold softly kissed his mate again. Chuckling to himself. "Do you really object to this, Bayou?"

"No," Bayou mumbled with a flush of embarrassment. He could never object to anything Stranglehold did to him, and would usually end up begging for more. He was such a weakling...

Chuckling, Stranglehold nuzzled his mate with another kiss. "So then what should we do, my mate?" Rumbling, he moved his head to kiss Bayou's neck.

"Anything and everything you want, love," Bayou purred, tilting his head for his mate. His hands caressed the seeker's cockpit, tracing fingers over the smooth, cool glass.

Grinning he moved one of his own hands to rub his mate's chest. Washing off the energon so his mate was once again clean. "Mmm. Then I suppose I should play again." Stranglehold chuckled before kissing his mate's neck again.

Bayou moaned softly at the kiss to his neck. It was a sound of simple pleasure and pure happiness. His Stranglehold's helm in range, he ran his tongue over the base of the antennae-like ornaments, nibbling gently to see what sort of reaction that would get him.

Stranglehold was too distracted with his soft kisses to notice what his mate was doing. The moment he felt Bayou lick the ornament, his head dropped down onto Bayou's shoulder. Optics flickering with a slight shiver of his chassis. "Ooh... What was that?" The tenna-ornaments were about the only thing on his chassis that were as sensitive, or more, than his wings.

Surprised by the reaction, Bayou blinked... then grinned slyly. He ran his tongue over the length of the ornament, pulling the tips past his lips and sucking lustily, teasing with his tongue. Maybe he could get Stranglehold to cry out and beg. It was a lot to hope for, but it was worth a shot.

Stranglehold shivered despite himself, but it just felt so good. He never cried out or begged, yet he had to admit it felt wonderful. Very soft moans slipping past his lips at the attention to the ornament. His head shifted slightly to give his mate better access to it.

Nipping at the bases and tips of the ornaments, Bayou rumbled. His hands wrapped around his mate to stroke his wing edges seductively.

The attention was still getting Stranglehold to moan. His wings quivered with the strokes to his wings. "Ooh... Bayou..." This was more than he expected. His own arms tightened around Bayou's waist to keep him close.

Bayou chuckled softly and teased the ornaments with his tongue. His fingers glided over the surface of the seeker's wings, caressing hidden nodes and sensors.

The twin wings extended out to their full length, something Stranglehold rarely did with their size. His red rubies darkened so he could concentrate on the pleasure. The soft moans slipped past his lips. Turning his head slightly to lean into his mate. He couldn't help it. He almost felt... weak, under the attention.

Fingers snuck into the joints connecting wings and chassis, caressing and teasing what he found. Bayou ground himself lustily against his mate, moving his attention from one antennae to the other, repeating the pleasurable actions.

Stranglehold's wings hitched up as a slight gasp escaped from Bayou. His optics brightened again as he groaned in pleasure. Fingers flexed over Bayou's back before they moved down to his hips. Sinking into the armor gaps. "Y-you're driving me crazy..." That was a good thing though. He wanted to continue but the attention was sending waves of pleasure through his form, making his rod hard and ache.

"Oh my, am I really?" Bayou murmured seductively, grinning as he nibbled on an ornament. He rubbed their hard rods together, fingers sinking deeper into the wingjoints.

"Very much so..." Stranglehold groaned as all the attention and all the pleasure was starting to get to him. His fingers moved to pull out of Bayou's hips to put them on his hips. Moving to pin his mate against the shower wall, the water crashing down on top of them. His own hips started to move to rub against his mate's. He let his fingers sink back into Bayou's hips. Rubbing up against his mate again. Craving to just take him.

Bayou gasped and groaned loudly as he was pinned to the shower wall, his hips bucking against Stranglehold's. His fingers tweaked what he knew to be a sensitive servo, attacking his mate with pleasure. His lips moved away from the ornaments to latch onto the seeker's mouth, kissing hungrily.

Stranglehold grinned hearing his mate react to his movements. He moaned out himself when Bayou hit the sensitive servo. His wings flexed with a twitch. Rumbling loudly, he eagerly kissed his mate back with a passion. Unable to hold himself back anymore, he lifted Bayou up so he could thrust into him. Instead of giving his mate a chance to realize it, he quickly began his thrusts. Craving too much to fill it mate because of the attention he had to wait.

Bayou cried out immediately, chassis quivering violently at his mate's immediate thrusts. Wrapping his legs around Stranglehold's hips, granting the seeker better access to his body, he lost all concentration on what he'd been doing. Practically melting in bliss, all he could do was clutch the seeker tightly and cry out.

"I told you... you drive me crazy." Stranglehold rumbled as he continued thrusting roughly into his mate. Another time he would of used his cables, but he was too into his movements already to really consider it. He groaned with a slight growl as he dug his fingers into Bayou's hips.

"A-aaahh!" Head tilting back, he gasped loudly, sweet cries of delight escaping him. With each thrust, his body jerked, and his doorwings ground against shower wall, sending out sparks.

"S-Strangle! H-Harder -oooh!" His hand moved to scrabble against their chest plates. He wanted spark-to-spark contact.

Feeling his mate's hands on his chassis, Stranglehold glanced down to see what he was doing. One of his own hands moved to remove Bayou's chest plate. Tossing it back down onto the shower floor behind them. With his own chest armor in Bayou's hands, he put his own back on his mate's hips. Hitching his own hips as he kept his mate pinned. Moving to put more of his strength into his thrusts. Groaning, he began thrusting harder and pushing himself deeper so he could increase both of their pleasure.

Gasping heavily in pleasure, Bayou whimpered and begged for more loudly. His spark pulsed faster, sensing it's other half just inches away without armor to block it. The panel to his spark chamber slid open of it's own accord, and Bayou wondered what spark contact would feel like DURING sex.

Bayou and Stranglehold were about to find out. When Stranglehold's own chest plate was gone, his own spark beat in turn with it's other half. Glancing at their sparks then his mate, the mech grinned. His own chassis obeyed his spark at the panel moved so he could move closer. Pressing their chests together. Not daring to disobey his own chassis, and because he wanted it, Stranglehold moaned out Bayou's name as his hips hitched with a powerful thrust. Hitting that sweet spot and going further. Feeling his spark flare and merge with his mate's the moment he hit his climax.

Bayou's scream was of absolute bliss. He was hit with more than just pleasure, and he didn't even realize he'd hit his climax. He felt like he was drowning in Stranglehold's consciousness; in his spark. Every emotion and sensation his mate was experiencing washed over the blue mech, and he clutched the seeker tightly, crying his name as another climax hit.

Stranglehold barely registered anything outside of him and his mate. To him it really felt, for a moment, they were one and not two separate beings. His spark was singing it's silent song to it's other half. The mech almost felt like singing along with the song. Instead of singing, with what little consciousness of self he had, he kissed Bayou in a passion. Keeping their bodies pressed together. Barely registering that he was thrusting again. The wonderful feeling of being inside Bayou, filling him to the brink, hearing that wonderful scream was all available to his mate to see. In a way, hear and experience from their blended minds.

In turn, Bayou shared the feeling of being taken. His mate's hard rod invading him, driving him closer and closer to the insanity of a screaming climax, and most of all, the lusty, loving craving that he had for his mate; they were all there for his mate to feel and understand. Body jerking with each of Stranglehold's thrusts, Bayou whimpered and cried into the kiss. Their sparks pulsed strongly as one, and overload was swiftly approaching.

Moaning into their kiss, Stranglehold's arms moved to wrap around Bayou's waist. Not letting their bodies part for even a second. Thrusting and hitching his hips, he hit that sweet spot again before hitting another climax. It came faster and sooner than before, but it didn't matter to him. He loved doing it and his mate loved feeling it. Leaning deeper into his mate, he kissed Bayou almost with a desperate passion. Hitching his hips again to ride out his climax. Already feeling even his chassis growing tired, but oh it was worth it.

And yet another climax. How many had that been now? Bayou had lost count. He felt his mate's hot energy shoot into his already brink-full port, and he groaned, shivering as energy overflowed past Stranglehold's bucking rod. Kissing back greedily, Bayou gave a final scream as his systems redlined and he hit complete overload, the most powerful orgasm of them all attacking him.

Good thing they were in the shower as the water was constantly running down them to keep them clean. Stranglehold kept their kiss until his chassis and his systems went into it's own overload. He started to feel weak as his warnings were blaring in his head. Panting, his dimmed red optics looked down to his mate. Smiling at him before managing a soft kiss. "I love you..."

He felt like his own legs were seconds from buckling. Releasing a hand from Bayou's hip, he had to dig his fingers into the wall to keep from collapsing. He continued to pant with what sounded like a whimper slipping past his lips when their sparks parted to return to their casings.

If it weren't for the fact that Bayou was pinned between his mate and the wall, he would have already collapsed. Once his spark was back inside it's proper case, he groaned and slumped back limply. "Primus, Strangle," he whimpered, kissing his mate tiredly. "W-We should do that more often..."

"I would enjoy that.." Stranglehold softly kissed Bayou. Reaching around his mate, he shut the water off. Wrapping his arms around Bayou's waist. He groaned as he reluctantly pulled himself from Bayou. Keeping his mate in his arms, with what strength he had in reserve, he moved back from the wall.

Doubting he could reach the bed, the former tyrant slowly moved to get Bayou and him on the shower floor. "Too tired to head to the bed... You don't mind resting here, do you?"

Bayou chuckled, already sinking to the ground and taking Stranglehold with him. "I was about to ask you the same thing, love." He'd never been so exhausted like this before. It felt absolutely wonderful.

Kissing his mate, Stranglehold curled against Bayou. Smiling softly as he kissed Bayou again. Letting his optics dim. He pulled him close and didn't let go. "I love you, my mate." Rumbling softly, he nuzzled Bayou. Loving the experience he just had.

"And I love you," Bayou purred, pressing against his beloved. Optics powering down, he was asleep in seconds, listening to the gentle pulse of his mate's spark.

Stranglehold soon followed Bayou into slumber. Resting his head on top of his mate's. A small smile on his visage as he slept. The silent song of their sparks let him sleep soundly. Feeling so tired, but oh so happy.


End file.
